





Bhs). Iesrale), Gauls 
yak Ie dbabyerchaln 90 Mubas its fapees 1M eice5, 
Is the kingdom age at hand? 





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in 2022 with funding from 
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IS THE KINGDOM AGE AT HAND? 
Rev. E. M. MILLIGAN, pp. 


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IS THE KINGDOM AGE 
AT HAND? 


An Interpretation of Portions of Dantel’s Prophecy 
and The Book of The Revelation of Jesus Christ 


BY 


Rev. E. M. "MILLIGAN, po. 


AUTHOR OF “PREMILLENARIAN BELIEFS,’ “THE TWO MESSAGES OF 
THE GOSPEL,” “WHERE ARE THE DEAD?” ETC. 


ver 69 sons 


GEORGE H. DORAN COMPANY 


COPYRIGHT, 1924, 
BY GEORGE H. DORAN COMPANY 


IS THE KINGDOM AGE AT HAND? 


woe A me 


PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 


AUTHOR’S PREFACE 


In preparing and in offering this book to the public as an aid 
to the better understanding of the prophecies of Scripture, the 
author was influenced by a desire (a) To direct attention to 
certain rules or principles required for the correct interpreta- 
tion of the Bible, which, although not unknown to the scholar- 
ship of the Church, are nevertheless too generally ignored by 
those who undertake to furnish expositions of the Word of 
God. (b) To demonstrate that, when these rules are faithfully 
and consistently employed, much of the mystery and many of 
the difficulties found in the Bible disappear, and an intelligent 
understanding of Scripture becomes possible. (c) To thus 
commend to the more general use of Bible readers and students 
said rules in the confident expectation that the employment of 
the same will promote agreement as to what really is taught in 
the Bible. (d) To supply an interpretation of certain impor- 
tant prophecies that will be understood by Christians of average 
intelligence and that will afford them a clearer understanding 
of what God has revealed for our learning. (e) To call atten- 
tion to the important fact that we are right now living at the 
very end-time of this present evil age, and that before a great 
while, possibly even within the next generation, the fulfilment of 
prophecies that predict the great tribulation and the Day of the 
Lord will awaken both a lukewarm Church and a godless world 
from their fancied security, and subject them to the wrath of 
God and of the Lamb, unless they repent and begin at once to 
improve their day of opportunity. If only in some measurable 
degree these objects are attained, the work of the author will 
not have been in vain. 

To understand prophecy it is important to have in mind the 
relation between “The times of the Gentiles,” and “This present 
evil age.” The author understands that these overlap and paral- 
lel each other about as follows: 

Vv 


vi | AUTHOR’S PREFACE 


“The times of the Gentiles” began about 603 B.c., or when 
the prophet Daniel, having interpreted the forgotten dream of 
Nebuchadnezzar, informed him also that he was the “Head of 
gold” that was seen on the great image that symbolized Gentile 
world dominion (Dan. 2:38). The chief events mentioned in 
prophecy in connection with “the times of the Gentiles’ are 
(1) The decree of Artaxerxes, in the twentieth year of his 
reign about 444 B.c., to rebuild Jerusalem (Neh. 2:1). (2) 
The building of the city completed in troublous times after seven 
weeks, or forty-nine years (Dan. 9:25). (3) The fact that 
sixty-two weeks, or four hundred and thirty-four years, after 
that event, the Jewish Messiah, Whose birth, death, resurrec- 
tion, and ascension are recorded in the New Testament, would 
be cut off, or wholly rejected (Dan. 9: 26) by the Jewish nation 
notwithstanding the gift of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost (Acts 
2:1-12). (4) In consequence the Abrahamic covenant was 
suspended and the Jews were cast off about 39 a.p. (Rom. 
Il: 15, 20, 23). (5) At that point God ceased to reckon the 
flight of time and it will continue to be ignored until God re- 
turns and deals again with His people Israel under the Abra- 
hamic covenant (Acts 15:16). This will be at the end of the 
dispensation of grace when the fulness of the Gentiles has been 
brought into the Church (Rom. 11:25). (6) In the mean- 
while, the holy city, Jerusalem, after being destroyed in 70 A.D. 
(Matt. 24:1, 2), was to remain under the dominion of Gentile 
world power until “the times of the Gentiles were fulfilled” 
Giekeeiei2A)e 

Before that end-time comes there are other predicted events 
to be fulfilled: (1) The return of God’s people Israel to the 
land of their fathers from all the nations whither they have 
been scattered (Deut. 30: 1-10). (2) The Antichrist, or world 
emperor, must be revealed (2 Thes. 2:3). (3) He will make 
a covenant with the Jewish nation (Isa. 28:15-18) that is to 
continue for one week, or seven years (Dan. 9: 27), and, under 
the protection of the Antichrist, that nation will worship the 
God of their fathers according to all the forms and ceremonies 
of the Mosaic ritual. However, after three and a half years, 
(4) Antichrist will come to the temple in Jerusalem (Matt. 
24:15) and demand that the Jews shall worship him as their 


AUTHOR’S PREFACE vii 


god (2 Thes. 2:4). And on their refusal so to do (5) Anti- 
christ will break the covenant and for the remaining three and 
a half years, or forty-two months (Rev. 11:2) he will greatly 
afflict and persecute that nation (Dan. 9:27) and besiege their 
city, Jerusalem (Zech. 14:1-3). (6) This siege will continue 
with varying success during all of the forty-two months, or 
twelve hundred and sixty days. Then a great earthquake will 
destroy Babylon and the cities of the nations (Rev. 16: 19), and 
then Antichrist will abandon finally the siege of Jerusalem of 
which a remnant of the Jews will still have possession (Zech. 
14:2, 3), and with that event “the times of the Gentiles” will 
end. 

Pentecost, with the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, about 
33 A.D., marks the end of the Mosaic age or dispensation, and 
the beginning of “This present evil age” (Gal. 1:4). The 
Jews were then given a further opportunity to repent of their 
sins and to accept their Messiah Whom they slew in ignorance 
(Acts 2:14-41). But when the rulers of that nation had 
demonstrated their determination to reject Jesus as their Mes- 
siah, about 39 A.D., then God’s covenant with that nation was 
suspended, the apostles turned to the Gentiles (Acts 13:46), 
and at that time began the dispensation of the grace of God 
(Eph. 3:1, 2) and the taking out of the Church from among 
the Gentiles (Acts 15:14). The epistles to the seven churches 
in Asia (Rev., chs. 2-3) furnish a forecast of the history of the 
Visible Church during the entire dispensation of grace. At 
the end of that period the True Church, or the Church in 
mystery (Eph. 5:32), called also the Bride of Christ and the 
Lamb’s Wife, which has been built up within the Visible 
Church, or within the Church which is Christ’s body (Eph. 
5:23), will be caught up to meet the Lord in the air (1 Thes. 
4:16,17). The Holy Spirit will depart with the True Church 
(2 Thes. 2:7) and the Visible Church that still remains on the 
earth will then fall away, or apostatize (2 Thes. 2: 3). 

At that point begin “The latter days” (Dan. 2:28; 10:14), 
or “the end of the days” (Dan. 11:40; 12:13), when God 
will again deal with His people Israel under the Abrahamic 
covenant. This will be a period of seven years. It is the last 
one of Daniel’s seventy weeks, and the last seven of the four 


viii AUTHOR’S PREFACE 


hundred and ninety years within which time the Abrahamic 
covenant was to be completed (Dan. 9:24). Of these “latter 
days,” the first three and a half years will be the time when 
God’s judgments, described under the first four trumpets and 
the first four bowls of wrath, are abroad in the earth, and when 
the inhabitants of the world learn righteousness (Isa. 26:9). 
The remaining three and a half years, or forty-two months, 
or twelve hundred and sixty days, will be the time of the great 
tribulation (Matt. 24:21; Mk. 13:24) described under the 
last three trumpets and the last three bowls of wrath. In the 
Old Testament “the great tribulation” is called “the time of 
Jacob’s trouble” (Jer. 30:7). The “latter days” being syn- 
chronous with the last seven years of the times of the Gentiles, 
they wiil end when the great earthquake destroys Babylon and 
causes the Antichrist to abandon the siege of Jerusalem. 
However, beyond that point of time there are three other 
events that will occur before “this present evil age” ends: (1) 
Armageddon (Rev. 16:16); (2) The Supper of the Great 
God (Rev. 19:17, 18); and (3) The casting of the Beast and 
the False Prophet into the lake of fire (Rev. 19:20), and the 
binding of Satan for a thousand years (Rev. 20:1, 2). The 
prophet Daniel declares that “in the midst of the week (seven 
years) he (the Antichrist) shall cause the sacrifice and the ob- 
lation to cease (ch. 9:27). That will be the time when Anti- 
christ begins “to scatter the power of the holy people (God’s 
Israel)” (ch. 12:7), and for the accomplishment of that pur- 
pose there is allowed “a time, times, and a half,” or three and 
a half years, equal to forty-two months, or twelve hundred and 
sixty days. That period synchronizes, therefore, with “the 
great tribulation.” Starting again at the same point, namely, 
“from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away, 
and the abomination that maketh desolate set up (the Anti- 
christ posing as God), there shall be a thousand two hundred 
and ninety days (ch. 12:11). That seems to point to Arma- 
geddon, where the armies of the Antichrist will be utterly de- 
stroyed by the great hail storm (Rev. 16:21), when in the 
day of the Lord the returning Christ shall tread the winepress 
of the wrath of God without the city, Jerusalem, or at Arma- 
geddon (Rev. 19: 11-16). But once again Daniel says, “Blessed 


J 


AUTHOR’S PREFACE ix 


is he that waiteth, and cometh to the thousand three hundred 
and five and thirty days” (ch. 12:12). That is forty-five days 
later and during that month and a half it is possible that the 
fowls of the heavens will feast on the carcases of the slain at 
Armageddon. That will conclude the Supper of the Great 
God, and probably during the same period sentence will be 
passed and executed against the Beast, the False Prophet, and 
Satan. Thus the present evil age will end and the glorious 
Kingdom age with its righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy 
Ghost, will have begun. 

It is commonly agreed that those who refuse to believe the 
teachings of the Bible are chargeable with infidelity. But today 
the many make no distinction between the teachings of the 
Bible and mere “private interpretations’ of the teachings of 
the Bible. Christian Scientists believe the Bible to be true 
“as spiritually interpreted by Mrs. Mary Baker G. Eddy.” 
Multitudes of others also are ready to profess their belief in 
the teachings of the Bible, but only as “privately interpreted” 
to mean what they choose to regard as true. As a result, one 
who rejects “private interpretations” of Scripture, especially 
interpretations that have the approval of many Christians, or 
of some denomination of Christians, is very likely to be 
charged with heterodoxy. It will not be because he refuses to 
believe the Bible, but because he holds to the literal teachings 
of Scripture and rejects the “private interpretations” that others 
have given to these teachings. 

By the consistent use and application of rules generally ac- 
cepted in the School of Interpreters known as “The Futurists,” 
or “The Literalists,” the author of this book has certain under- 
standings of what God has revealed for our learning, and he 
has faithfully presented the same although at times his under- 
standing of the teachings of Scripture is opposed to what is 
by many held to be orthodox. This fact to some extent appears 
in this book, and may call forth criticism from some whose 
orthodoxy rests upon “private interpretations” of the Word of 
God. However, none of the teachings in this book that are 
apt to be regarded as unorthodox touch any of the fundamental 
doctrines of the Christian religion, to all of which doctrines 
the author holds tenaciously, even to a degree that may cause 


x AUTHOR’S PREFACE 


him to be further criticised as an extreme conservative. But 
rather than take the risk of “handling the Word of God de- 
ceitfully,’ or of “wresting the Scriptures,” or of “making 
void the Word of God” by substituting the opinions of men 
for the literal teachings of the Book, the author prefers to sub- 
mit to criticism even though some of the critics may be well- 
beloved brethren. 

With the sincere wish that this study in prophecy that seeks 
to answer the question, Is the Kingdom Age near? may prove 
helpful to all who read the book, and especially to such Bible 
readers and students as love the truth and desire to secure a 
clearer understanding of the teachings of God’s Word, this 
book is sent forth on its mission with the devout prayer that 
it may be used by the Holy Spirit to enable some seekers after 
truth to secure a better knowledge of the things which God has 
revealed for our learning, and which must shortly come to 
pass. 

Pittsburgh, Pa. 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER 


I 
II 


XI 


XII 
XII 
XIV 

XV 
XVI 

XVII 


INTRODUCTORY! 00S hte anars 

SCRIPTURE Must INTERPRET ITSELF 

THE SIGNIFICANCE OF SACRED NUMBERS 
NINE GREAT COVENANTS \c0 wu yl 
THE TIME ELEMENT IN PROPHECY . . 
KinGpoM LIGHT IN THE DARKNESS . . 
THE PROPHECY OF GENTILE DOMINION . 
INTRODUCTORY TO THE REVELATION . . 


THE PROPHECY CONCERNING THE VISIBLE 
GEURO Hy Whe yon yy a Mat ae Mon: het 
(A) THE FIRST THREE EPISTLES 


THE PROPHECY CONCERNING THE VISIBLE 
CHURCH) (Continited) iis) con ae nade 
(B) FOURTH AND FIFTH EPISTLES 


THE PRoPpHECY CONCERNING THE VISIBLE 
CHugcm |(Conchuled) jalan cen waies ie. 
(C) SIXTH AND SEVENTH EPISTLES 


‘(PHE\VUNEULFILLED ‘PROPHECY Ly) uy 
AES VAISIONIN TL BAVENG WH iinet tei, 
THE BOOK WITH SEVEN OEALS a) W000) ce 
THE Four Horses AND THEIR RIDERS . 
THE LATTER Days . 


Gop’s SERVANTS AND THE PALM-BEARERS 
xd 


PAGE 


123 


136 


154 
168 


174 
178 
186 
193 


xii 


CHAPTER 


XVIII 
XIX 
XX 


XXI 


XXII 


XXIII 
XXIV 


XXV 
XXVI 
XXVII 
XXVIII 


XXIX 


CONTENTS 


IsRAEL “IN THE LATTER Days’”’ 


THE TIME OF JACOB’S TROUBLE 


TRIBULATION OF COVENANT-KEEPING 
ISRAEL . ; 
SATAN’S ENmMITY DIRECTED AGAINST 


ISRAEL 


SATAN’S CHIEF AGENTS IN THE LATTER 
Days 


THE GENTILE WorRLD EMPIRE 


THE JUDGMENT AND THE GREAT TRIBU- 
LATION 


THE OVERTHROW OF MySTERY, BABYLON 
THE Doom oF BABYLON THE GREAT 
THE RETURN OF THE KING OF KINGS 


EVENTS FOLLOWING THE BATTLE OF AR- 
MAGEDDON 


ALL Tuincs MAapE NEw 


PAGE 
203 


210 
218 
236 


247 
260 


272 
286 
297 
399 


319 
336 


IS THE KINGDOM AGE 
AT HANDP 


CHAPTER [| 
INTRODUCTORY 


Books: Wise and Otherwise 

There are so many books that have been written by scholars 
of national and international repute on the books of Daniel and 
the Revelation, in more recent time especially on the latter 
prophecy, that it would seem as though the field even now had 
been more than sufficiently covered, and that other books on the 
same subject could hardly be expected to add anything of worth 
to what had been supplied. 


Prophecy Not Understood by Many Today 

The author of this book has long shared that belief. He 
would not presume, therefore, to offer to the Christian public, 
even with an apology for so doing, another book covering the 
same ground were it not for the fact that among Christians 
generally, both clerical and lay, it is recognized and freely 
acknowledged that the difficulties and problems presented in 
these prophecies, that have come down to our day through the 
centuries past, for the greater part still remain; the difficulties 
have not been surmounted, nor have the problems been solved. 

Many earnest Bible readers and students today, some even 
above the average in intelligence, candidly confess that they 
seldom read either the prophecy of Daniel or the Book of the 
Revelation, simply because they are unable to understand these 
writings. Since they have found no satisfactory explanation 
for them, they claim to receive but little if any benefit from 


15 


16 IS THE KINGDOM AGE AT HAND? 


reading these portions of Scripture. Although ministers at 
times select their texts from these books, still many frequently 
use such texts without any regard to the context, and as a mere 
accommodation for certain subjects, because, as they likewise 
confess, they have but little understanding of the prophecies. 


Biblical and Textual Criticism Are Not Discussed 


The problems that have to do chiefly with the authorship and 
the canonicity of these two “prophecies, it is believed have been 
solved, at least to the general satisfaction of conservative Chris- 
tians. Today, practically all evangelical churches agree that 
the prophecies of Daniel and of the Revelation have a well 
established right to be regarded as parts of the Holy Scripture; 
and, further, it is believed that these books were written respec- 
tively by Daniel the prophet, and by John the beloved disciple, 
and the apostle of Jesus Christ. 

There also are many standard works published on both 
Biblical and Textual Criticism, and anything of that character 
is entirely foreign to the purpose of this book. While these 
studies have their importance for theological students, they are 
not necessary for the general reader. It is possible also to 
overestimate the profit to be gained by the pursuit of such study, 
which is unprofitable and positively harmful, if permitted to 
consume the time and usurp the place of devout and reverent 
reading of the Scriptures. Nothing should be allowed to deny 
one the opportunity for the prayerful and careful study and 
searching of the Bible itself. It is only God’s Word that is a 
lamp to the feet and a light to the path; the entrance of which 
giveth light and maketh wise the simple,—provided he desires 
and seeks to be led into the truth by the Holy Spirit speaking 
in the Scriptures. 


Expositors Not Agreed Among Themselves 
The purpose of this book is to suggest the method of inter- 
preting the prophecies; also to help solve the problems and to 
remove the difficulties that remain and that are to be found 
especially in the prophecies of Daniel and of the Revelation. 
Few interpreters even pretend to have satisfactorily overcome 
the difficulties they meet with in Daniel’s prophecies, especially, 


INTRODUCTORY 17 


as these are related to the time factor so prominent in his 
prophecy of the Seventy Weeks. 

As to the Book of the Revelation, there are still three different 
schools of interpreters. And the adherents of each school 
firmly believe that their own plan and method of explaining 
this book is the only correct one: 

The Preterists claim that all the prophecies of the Revela- 
tion have been fulfilled already in the struggles of the Jews 
and of the early Christians, and in the conquests of Greece and 
Rome. 

In the Historical school, the advocates insist that the predic- 
tions contained in these prophecies are being progressively ful- 
filled. For the greater part, they believe these prophecies have 
been fulfilled today by certain events of history to which they 
point as having occurred since the days of the apostles. In 
' their judgment we are at present in the period of the third, 
fourth, or fifth bowl of God’s wrath against evil doers. 

The Futurists, who generally also insist on holding to the 
literal meaning of the words used in Scripture, unless there 
should be clear proof of a figurative or symbolic use, believe 
that so much of these prophecies are about fulfilled as are con- 
tained in the seven epistles to the churches, but they generally 
hold that the seals have not as yet even begun to be opened, and 
they claim that all the judgments predicted under the trumpets 
and the bowls of divine wrath still await the future for their 
fulfilment 


Inquiers Still Walk in Darkness 

Faced with such conflicting claims, what can the layman 
believe other than that prophecy is not understood by any one? 
And that is the conclusion generally reached by laymen. It is 
an opinion shared also by not a few ministers of whom many 
have long since given up all hope of ever being able to under- 
stand these prophecies. 

It appears quite evident, therefore, that there is still oppor- 
tunity and even necessity for some further effort to throw the 
light of truth upon these “dark sayings of old.” That the 
author of this book may be able so to do is the reason that has 
induced him to prepare and to offer this work to the public, 


18 IS THE KINGDOM AGE AT HAND? 


which will of course decide for itself what if any merits attach 
themselves to the offered explanation. 


Partial Truth in All Explanations 


That there are elements of truth to be found in the theories 
of each of the above mentioned schools of interpretation is rea- 
sonable to believe; otherwise they would have been unable to 
hold their ground for so long a time against the objections and 
criticisms which the several adherents of opposing schools have 
advanced as their reasons for refusing to accept any theory of 
interpretation as better than their own. 

It is not less reasonable to conclude that there are also some 
errors to be found in the theories of each of these schools of 
interpreters ; otherwise it would seem impossible that agreement 
should fail to have been reached after all these years of striving 
to little or no profit. This is specially true because the scholars, 
whose judgments have been at disagreement with each other, 
and whose opinions have so often clashed, are for the greater 
part Christian men and sincere seekers after truth who certainly 
would not hold out against a recognized superior method of 
interpretation, fairly well demonstrated to be correct, merely 
because it was opposed to a pet theory of their own. 

The important and necessary thing, therefore, is not merely 
to examine the several theories of interpretation with the pur- 
pose to point out their errors, but rather the different methods 
ought to be carefully considered with a desire to learn what of 
truth may be contained in the theories of the several schools of 
interpreters. ‘Thus, possibly, the correct method for expound- 
ing these great prophecies may be found, and a more general 
understanding and agreement concerning their teachings may 
be secured. 


Separating Between the Wheat and the Chaff 


The author of this book has faithfully endeavored to follow 
that plan. In performing the work he has tried to banish from 
his mind all prejudice, and all preconceived notions and prefer- 
ences in order to avoid as far as possible mistakes in deciding 
what probably was wheat and what might be chaff. He has 


INTRODUCTORY 19 


sought also to form a correct judgment regarding both the 
strength and the weakness, the truth and the error contained in 
each of the several methods of interpretation as related espe- 
cially to the prophecies of the Revelation. 

And it is believed that this honest attempt to discover the 
truth has proved to be fairly successful. Like the bee that 
instinctively gathers the sweetness from a thousand flowers in 
order to produce its honey, so the author has tried to gather up 
the truth from dozens of books published by different able 
adherents of the several schools of interpretation. He has 
gleaned, also, from the writings of pre-millenarians and post- 
millenarians and from scores of pamphlets written by various 
authors some of whom were well known and others were un- 
known to fame, but each pamphlet set forth the understanding 
of some Christian writer regarding the teachings contained in 
these prophecies. Truth has been sought even from the writ- 
ings of the modernists, or the liberal theologians, as they are 
pleased to style themselves, or, as writers of this type are 
classified by others, they are destructive critics and infidels. The 
author of this book, influenced by a supreme love for truth, has 
for more than thirty years been examining diligently the pro- 
ductions of many writers on the subject of prophecy with a 
sincere desire to discover truth wherever to be found, and to 
separate it from error in the hope of securing for himself a 
correct understanding of these great prophecies of the Bible. 

In this labor of love for the truth, and for nothing more or 
less, or other, he has been helped both by hints and by sugges- 
tions, or by the mere casual observations of various writers, 
and not less by the criticisms and objections raised by these 
several writers against certain interpretations and against the 
different methods of interpretation. From information thus 
gathered it is believed now to be possible to set forth certain 
rules and principles, and to furnish a method for the exposition 
of these prophecies that will prove helpful in solving the prob- 
lems, in removing the difficulties and in securing a much more 
general agreement concerning the truth taught in these mar- 
velous books of prophecy. It is expected to prove that these 
are truly marvelous prophecies and their already fulfilled pre- 


20 IS THE KINGDOM AGE AT HAND? 


diction should compel the acknowledgment even from the most 
unwilling lips that these prophecies reveal “the finger of God.” 


Credit Due Chiefly to Others 


For the results obtained no credit is claimed by the author of 
this book which contains but little of real value that may not 
be found in the writings of other, and of far more able schol- 
ars. But, unfortunately, owing to the fact that the author was 
seeking light and information in the first place chiefly for him- 
self, with no thought of committing the result to writing, the 
many books and pamphlets read during the past more than a 
quarter of a century were not listed, and no record was kept 
of the various sources from which was received from time to 
time what is believed to be true knowledge and understanding 
concerning the teachings of these prophecies. Hence it is mani- 
festly impossible to mention authorities in this book, and to give 
the credit that may be and unquestionably is due to the several 
writers whose works have proved most helpful, instructive and 
illuminating. The only helps used in preparing this book for 
publication were Young’s Analytical Concordance, and Sco- 
field’s Reference Bible with Notes. 

However, this may be said in justice to others, that in this 
book there is not a single rule or principle of interpretation that 
may not be found either as original or as endorsed suggestions 
in the writings of others. And most of the writers to whom 
credit is due are eminent and world renowned biblical scholars 
such as Brooks, Moody, Spurgeon, Pierson, Erdman, Moore- 
head, Scofield, Pember, and a score of others who are not less 
illustrious Christian writers. Probably not one of these schol- 
ars has accepted all the rules of interpretation to which attention 
will be called in this book, nor have they always consistently 
applied in their studies such of the principles as they do endorse. 
Therefore they are not to be held responsible, nor to be con- 
sidered as authority for many of the conclusions reached by 
the author of this book. For the greater part the conclusions 
represent the author’s own understanding of the Scriptures and 
he accepts full responsibility for the same. But every rule or 
principle given in this book has the endorsement of some one 
or more of the biblical scholars mentioned above. 


INTRODUCTORY 21 


These rules and principles for the correct interpretation of 
the prophecies of Scripture have not originated nor been dis- 
covered by the author of this book as a result of first hand 
investigation. His task has been merely to assemble, classify, 
and arrange the truth as others have pointed it out. And the 
faithful use of these rules and principles, combined and dili- 
gently applied, has made it possible to harmonize these 
prophecies, and to explain them in a manner so as to make 
clear and understandable their meaning and significance even to 
the average Bible reader, and to show to all who may read this 
book the great importance of the teachings of these prophecies 
especially now at the very end-time of this present evil age. 


CHAPTER II 
SCRIPTURE MUST INTERPRET ITSELF 


Some Books of No Value to Seekers After Truth 

There are two classes of biblical expositors who have written 
many books about the Bible, and who have furnished various 
explanations of the truths taught in the Scriptures, especially 
in the prophecies, whose works are of little if of any value at 
all in the search after truth. The reading of such books has 
resulted merely in the waste of precious time. 


Destructive Critics Are Not Spurit Led Teachers 


Expositors who are willing to match their ignorance concern- 
ing the Bible and its teachings as being of no less worth and 
authority than the infinite knowledge and the supreme authority 
of the God-Man, and who do not hesitate to dishonor Jesus 
Christ by boldly challenging His statements that “the Scriptures 
cannot be broken,” and that “all will be fulfilled to the last jot 
and tittle,’ can hardly be supposed to have the benefit of the 
Holy Spirit to lead them into the truth. Their works suggest 
rather “the natural man who receiveth not the things of the 
Spirit of God; for they are foolishness unto him: neither can 
he know them, because they are discerned by the Spirit.” | 

Hence the efforts of such expositors to make up for what 
they do not know concerning the method of interpreting, and 
also the true teachings of the Bible, by loudly proclaiming the 
mere hypothetical theory, originally formulated by true scien- » 
tists, of man’s descent from an ape, as a fact established beyond 
all controversy, is proof sufficient that those who thus claim 
are themselves men who wholly lack the scientific spirit, who 
have discarded truly scientific methods, and whose conclusions 
therefore rest on “science falsely so called.” 

The further effort of such writers to hide their ignorance of 

22 


SCRIPTURE MUST INTERPRET ITSELF 23 


the Bible by calling attention to “the mistakes of Moses,” and 
to the errors and disagreements, they claim to have discovered, 
in the various manuscripts of the P, D, and Q schools of the 
prophets, and their assertion that the Bible is a mere crazy 
quilt of these various and contradictory writings patched to- 
gether by some unknown editor, is a further revelation either 
of their spiritual blindness or of their dishonesty, or of both. 

Such writers think to establish the infallibility of their own 
views and opinions by extolling the great wisdom and the 
marvelous genius of modern scholarship represented exclusively 
today by the liberal theologians of whom they modestly make 
it clear that they are “IT.” And by thus claiming for them- 
selves high rank as scholars they would have all to understand 
that they are entitled to the last word; and because the seal of 
their approval has been stamped all over the aforementioned 
views and opinions, they declare that only old fogies and 
ignoramuses ever presume to question their authority as final, 
etc., ad nauseam. 

The work of all such writers, whether Germans or hyphen- 
ated Americans or rationalistic-Germo-maniacs, has been found 
of no worth whatever in the search for truth. These moderns, 
in all their attacks upon the Bible, have not brought forward 
anything that the rationalists, infidels, and atheists of former 
centuries have not already used. Yet fearful of these fiery 
darts of Satan, many false professors,—often spelled with a 
capital “P,’—have surrendered and gone over to the camp of 
the enemy. But such missiles never yet have pierced the Chris- 
tian’s armor and they never will. 


Private Interpretations Are Worthless 

Then, too, there are many reverent and Christian expositors 
who are humble and spiritually minded students of the Word, 
yet their labor to unfold the teachings of prophecy, especially as 
found in the Book of Daniel and of the Revelation, is for the 
greater part unsatisfactory and unedifying because they are 
wedded to the habit of setting forth “private interpretations” 
in direct opposition to the plain teaching of Scripture that “no 
prophecy of the Scripture is of any private interpretation” 
(2 Pet. 1:20). There is of course but little agreement among 


24 IS THE KINGDOM AGE AT HAND? 


such expositors, and there never will be agreement among them 
while they cling to an unscriptural method of interpretation, 
substituting for Scripture “cunningly devised fables,” and for- 
getting or neglecting at least to make any practical use of the 
most important of all rules for the correct understanding of 
God’s Word, namely, that the Scripture must be its own 
interpreter. 


Scripture Interpreted by Scripture: The Only Safe and 
Infalltble Rule 

The only safe and infallible rule for the interpretation of 
Scripture is the Scripture itself. The use of this rule makes it 
possible to declare: ‘“We speak, not in the words which man’s 
wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; compar- 
ing spiritual things with spiritual.” This rule requires that 
whenever there is a question concerning the meaning of any 
Scripture, that the true sense must be searched out and ascer- 
tained from other Scriptures that speak more clearly. This is 
the rule that the Reformers of the 16th century emphasized as 
agreeable to their understanding of what the Scriptures them- 
selves taught regarding the method of their interpretation. And 
it is only by the consistent use and constant application of this 
safe rule that it is possible for the Holy Spirit, speaking in 
the Scriptures, to become the Supreme Judge by whom all 
controversies of religion is to be determined; and all decrees 
of councils, opinions of ancient (or modern) writers, doctrines 
of men, and private spirits is to be examined, and in whose 
sentence we are to rest (2 Pet. 1: 19-21; 3:16; Ps, 119: 105, 
1303/Isa. 8:190,\203 Lkii24i44-jlohn 5: 165 Acts ars sano 
1 Cor, 2: 10-14). 

The substitution of “private interpretations” for this only 
safe rule, so generally prevalent today among even Christian 
expositors, cannot be expected to result otherwise than to befog 
the meaning of Holy Scripture for multitudes of the unlearned, 
and to make agreement concerning its teachings simply 
impossible. 


Private Interpretations Make Void the Word of God 


Further, the many private interpretations today, especially 
of prophecy, have made void the Word of God even as Jesus 


SCRIPTURE MUST INTERPRET ITSELF 25 


declared, in the days of His earthly ministry, had been done by 
the religious leaders and teachers of the Jewish people by use of 
the same method. Regarding this device of Satan to deceive, 
if it were possible the very elect of God, Christian scholars have 
not been sufficiently mindful nor on their guard and so they 
have permitted themselves to be caught by the wiles of the 
Devil. 

When, after the conversion of Constantine, the first Christian 
emperor, the world almost en masse began to identify itself 
with the Church of Christ, her doctrines began to undergo 
change and modifications in order that they might conform to 
the thought and belief of heathendom which at that time had 
secured a position of commanding influence in the Visible 
Church. Later, also, both her doctrines and worship were 
corrupted further by the Papacy. These facts are recorded by 
Church historians generally. 

The Reformation of the 16th century corrected this departure 
from the faith of the Apostolic Church in part, but only in part, 
because the practice of private interpretation of the Scriptures, 
—a practice introduced by Origen in the 3rd century,—had 
become so firmly established that neither in the 16th century 
nor since that time has the Christian Church entirely abandoned 
that false and pernicious method of handling the Word of God. 
As a result the Church still holds and teaches some things that 
are plainly contrary to the truth of divine revelation as it has 
been revealed for our learning. The following is an illustration: 


THE WORD OF TRUTH 


To the law, and to the testi- 
mony, if they speak not accord- 
ing to this word; there is no 
light in them. 

Christ . . . brought life and 
immortality to light through the 
gospel (2 Tim. 1:10). 

God only hath immortality (1 
Tim. 6:16). 

Seek for glory, honor, immor- 
tality, eternal life (Rom. 2:7). 


This mortal must put on im- 
mortality (1 Cor. 15:53). 


THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH 


In vain do ye worship me, 
teaching for doctrines the com- 
mandments of men. 


Plato and Socrates taught the 
doctrine of immortality in their 
day. 

Man also hath immortality. 


Man was created an immortal 
being; he has no need to seek 
for what he already possesses. 
Man is now an immortal, not a 
mortal being. 


26 IS THE KINGDOM AGE AT HAND? 


The explanation that it is only man’s body that is mortal; 
that the immortality for which he is “to seek,” and “to put on” 
is only for the body, and that it is his soul that hath immortality 
(Greek Anathasia, “deathlessness,’’ or Aphtharsia, “incorrup- 
tion’’) at once brings the teaching of the Church on this subject 
into conflict with the Scripture revelation concerning the penalty 
of sin: “The soul that sinneth, it shall die.’ Thus the Bible 
makes it very clear and certain that man’s soul is neither in- 
corruptible nor possessed of*deathlessness. It is not less clearly 
revealed that man’s soul is not to be annihilated for as corrupted 
and dead it is ‘‘to abide under God’s wrath,” and to be “tor- 
mented for the ages of the ages.” The soul of man is destined, 
therefore, to a never ending existence as are also the Devil and 
his angels as spiritual beings, but never ending existence is not 
immortality in the Scriptural sense of that word, and man was 
not created immortal nor is he possessed today of immortality. 
The contrary teaching came fren the world and not from the 
Word of God. 

The soul of man is and was when first created both cor- 
ruptible and mortal; it lives only while it continues in God’s 
presence; it is deprived of life when on account of sin it is 
forsaken of God, the Source and Fountain of soul life, and 
when it is banished from God’s presence to abide under His 
wrath. Only as Scripture is interpreted by Scripture will it 
be possible for the Church to avoid in her teaching confusion, 
contradiction, and false doctrines. It is only by the use of this 
safe rule of interpretation that the Church will be able to 
impart a true knowledge and understanding of the prophecies 
of God’s Word to those whom it is her duty to teach and to 
instruct in divine truth. 


The True Doctrine of Immortality 

Immortality means something far more than mere exemption 
from annihilation, or than unending existence. It means more 
even than eternal life which depends upon God’s good pleasure. 
Immortality is the very highest form of life; it is life divine 
and only God hath it. Concerning immortal life the Scriptures 
teach (1) that it is incorruptible life——life that cannot by any 
possibility be defiled by evil. The Greek word aphthartos 


SCRIPTURE MUST INTERPRET ITSELF 27 


means incorruptible; hence deathless or immortal as it is gen- 
erally rendered (1 Tim. 1:17). God (essential deity) cannot 
be tempted to evil, neither tempteth He any man (James 1: 13). 
(2) It is independent life,—life im oneself apart from any other 
source (John 5:26), and so absolutely under one’s own con- 
trol (John 10:17, 18). Further, immortality means according 
to the Scriptures (3) originating or creative life,—life that is 
able to impart or to communicate life to others. God the Father 
hath life in Himself; He gave to Jesus as the Son of Man to 
have life also im Himself. Each of these Persons, therefore, is 
possessed of endless duration (Heb. 7:16), and each has the 
power to give life to whom He will (John 5: 21, 25-29). 


Immortality an Attribute of the Divine Nature 

Thus immortality as the highest form of life,—the life of 
God Himself, is incorruptible, independent, and creative. It 
is, according to Scripture, an essential attribute only of the 
divine nature. And all such of the redeemed as become im- 
mortal beings will have faithfully responded to “the high calling 
of God in Christ Jesus,” and so will have secured for themselves 
“a full reward,” the very highest reward of glory (2 John 8). 


The Reformers Neglect Their Own Rule of Interpretation 

A further illustration of the neglect of this safe rule of 
interpretation may be profitably considered. In the controversy 
that was carried on among the Reformers of the 16th century 
regarding the great Scriptural doctrine of election, the Calvin- 
ists were pressed for an answer to the question, How can God 
foreknow the acts of free-moral agents? And disregarding in 
the heat of controversy the rule formulated by the Westminster 
divines themselves, namely, that the Scripture must interpret 
Scripture, and that all controversies of religion must be settled 
by the Holy Spirit speaking through the Word of God, the 
answer was given, that divine foreknowledge of the acts of 
free moral agents was made possible and certain because, by 
an immutable decree, the Sovereign God determines whatsoever 
comes to pass. 


28 IS THE KINGDOM AGE AT HAND? 


Fatalism Is at the Root of Any Such Teaching 


From such a pronouncement it was simply impossible success- 
fully to refute the charge that Calvinism, like Mohammedanism, 
was essentially fatalistic. It must be evident to each thoughtful 
mind that a moral being, whose every thought and act are 
determined for him, even before his birth, by an immutable 
decree of a Sovereign and Omnipotent God, is not free. Rather 
such a being is a mere machine that when set in motion does 
certain things because it cannot do any thing other. The ex- 
planation that in the face of such teaching seeks to maintain the 
freedom of man as a moral being by setting up the claim that 
God is not to be held responsible for what a man does, although 
what a man does must be in accordance with the immutable 
decree of God, is worse than no explanation at all in the 
attempt to answer and to refute the charge of fatalism. 


The False Teaching Is Continued to This Day 


In all the books of theology prepared by Calvinistic writers 
even to this day, the divine foreknowledge still is declared to 
depend on God’s decree. However, it is only the hyper- 
Calvinists, or those who are willing even yet to profess the 
belief that “there are infants in hell a span long,’’ who accept 
and consistently try to defend and to maintain teachings that 
are such a monstrous perversion of what God has revealed in 
the Scriptures for our learning. Jesus declared, It is not the 
will of your Heavenly Father that one of these little ones 
should perish. He set a little child in the midst of His disciples 
saying, “Except ye be converted and become as little children, 
ye shall in no wise enter into the Kingdom.” And taking the 
little ones in His arms and pressing them to His great loving 
heart, Jesus blessed them and said, “Suffer the little ones to 
come unto Me and forbid them not, for of such is the Kingdom 
of heaven.” 


The Modified Calvinism 

The great majority of Calvinists today repudiate hyper- 
Calvinism, but they make no effort to prove that it is un- 
scriptural, That work they leave to theologians, and are content 


SCRIPTURE MUST INTERPRET ITSELF 29 


merely to declare that they do not believe in “elect infants.” 
They also generally refrain from preaching on the doctrines 
either of the Sovereignty or of the Decrees of God in order 
thus to avoid awakening controversy. When asked embarrass- 
ing questions concerning the doctrine of election, the usual reply 
of those who hold to a modified Calvinistic teaching is that they 
believe the doctrine because it is plainly taught in the Scripture, 
but they confess not to understand the doctrine fully them- 
selves, and so admit their inability satisfactorily to explain to 
inquirers the mysteries connected with it. 


God's Decree Determined by Foreknowledge 


In Scripture however the divine decree is declared to rest 
on the foreknowledge of God and not the reverse. It is written, 
“Whom He did foreknow, He also did predestinate,” rather 
than, “Whom He did predestinate, He also did foreknow that 
they should be conformed to the image of His Son” (Rom. 
8:29). 

With the infinite God all things, including foreknowledge, are 
possible. But as a finite being man is not always able to answer 
intelligently the question: How can these things be? Man has 
learned that there are certain physical laws that operate uni- 
formly throughout the universe; he has given names to these 
laws, and attributes certain known effects to them as the cause. 
But what are these laws? whence come they? what is the secret 
of these laws being able to maintain the earth suspended upon 
nothing? How did God make the eye to see, or the ear to hear, 
or the bones to grow in the womb of her that is with child? 
And there are revealed truths also concerning which no man is 
able to explain the how or the why? To attempt so to do is 
the height of presumption and folly; it will solve no difficulty 
connected with the understanding of these things, but it may 
lead to the formulation of doctrines which to attempt to main- 
tain will place one in the position of opposing both the truth of 
Scripture and the testimony of his own senses. 


Man Knows Himself to be a Free Agent 


Man is a free moral agent and therefore responsible to his 
Creator for all he thinks and does or neglects to do, and also 


30 IS THE KINGDOM AGE AT HAND? 


for the results which fix irrevocably his destiny. This the 
Scriptures plainly teach and it agrees with every man’s knowl- 
edge and conscience concerning himself. ‘Man knows he is a 
free agent except as he is enslaved by his own evil habits and 
appetites for the cultivation of which, if not for the possession, 
he is himself alone responsible. 


Nothing Is Hidden From God 

Scripture also reveals that known unto God are all His works 
from the beginning. He needs not that any one should tell Him 
what is in man for He knows all things, even the secret thoughts 
of the heart. To those who would raise the question, How? 
Jesus has replied when He reminded Nicodemus that there were 
other things beside great spiritual verities that man did not 
know and need not expect to understand (John 3:8). There 
is no fatalism in what the Scriptures teach regarding the doc- 
trine of election. The elect are those whom God foreknew. 
That is all, and God deals justly with every one of whom each 
is free to choose what his just deserts shall be. 

Can God be sovereign and at the same time man be free, if 
he so wills, to disobey and resist the authority of God? Most 
assuredly He can be, because it is only by sovereign permission 
that for the present man is free to do as he may choose; and 
the freedom he enjoys does not release him from accountability 
to his Sovereign Creator who in due time will call for a reckon- 
ing. Then sovereignty will assert itself, and by the sentence 
pronounced every man will receive according to his works 
whether they have been good or evil, and there will be given no 
opportunity to appeal from the verdict then delivered. 


Non-Resistance to Evtl 

If a Quaker chose to resist the demands of a highway robber ; 
and if he were willing to fight against such wrong, he might 
be able easily to overcome the robber, to prevent the crime, and 
to hand the criminal over to justice. But non-resistance is a 
tenet of Quakers; they conscientiously profess a willingness to 
suffer even wrong and injustice rather than to inflict deserved 
punishment on an offender. That is the spirit of Christ and 
He commands His followers to cultivate that spirit and to 


SCRIPTURE MUST INTERPRET ITSELF 31 


practice according to it in all personal matters and relations in 
their private dealings with others. 


God the Only Rightful Avenger of Those Who Suffer Unjusthy 

However, it was not the plan or purpose of Jesus to have 
those willing to practice non-resistance to evil to suffer without 
any protection from wrong and injustice. Vengeance belongs 
to God Who hath ordained civil government and, as His min- 
ister, the civil magistrate was delegated the power of the sword 
of justice, and he was to be a terror to evil-doers. Jesus, there- 
fore, also commanded His followers, To render unto Caesar 
(the civil ruler), the things that are Caesar’s. These things 
include all lawful encouragement and support of the civil 
authority in the work of maintaining justice, and of fighting 
against wrong and injustice. 


Some Quakers Oppose God’s Plan 

But, contrary to the will of God, some Quakers would have 
even civil governments practice non-resistance to evil, and thus 
leave every one to the tender mercies of the wicked which are 
cruel. All who conscientiously practice, as do some of the 
Quakers, according to this spirit of non-resistance, thereby 
become responsible for the existence and spread of evil to the 
full extent to which they might have prevented it, but did not 
choose to prevent it. 


God’s Responsibility for Evil 

Every one may rightly be held responsible for evil that it was 
in his power to prevent, but which he chose not to prevent. And 
for that reason God accepts responsibility for the evil which 
He permits. He is not the Author of evil, for He did not 
originate it; neither tempteth He any man to do evil. But God 
had power to prevent sin from entering into this world, yet He 
permitted it to enter. He has the power also to bring swift 
punishment upon all evil-doers, to inflict upon them at once their 
just deserts, and thus to destroy them from the earth. But, 
instead of dealing thus with transgressors, God chooses to deal 
patiently, lovingly, graciously with sinners for the present, to 


32 IS THE KINGDOM AGE AT HAND? 


afford them opportunity to repent of their sins, to forsake them, 
and to return unto Him for His pardon and blessing. 

This is God’s way although He foreknew that there would 
be multitudes, like Pharaoh, who would harden their hearts, 
and continue to pursue their evil ways, because God’s way of 
dealing with them makes it possible for them to deceive them- 
selves with the false hope and expectation that they can prosper 
and get success in sin. They, therefore, choose to follow their 
own course, and for a time they enjoy the wages of unrighteous- 
ness apparently without fear of the consequences, and in the 
belief that there is no danger of their ever being overtaken by 
divine justice. For this reason that God permits evil which He 
has power to prevent, He accepts the responsibility for its 
presence in the world. Hence in Scripture God declares, “I 
form the light and create darkness; I make peace, and create 
evil. I the Lord do all these things.” He is said also to have 
hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and He did, but only by the favors 
granted unto him that caused Pharaoh to harden his own 
heart. And so the prophet asks, “Is there evil in the city and 
the Lord hath not done it?’ The very form of the question 
places the responsibility on God, and He accepts it, because 
He could have prevented the evil if He had willed so to do. 

Let Scripture interpret itself. Let the Holy Spirit, speaking 
through the Word of God, be the Supreme Judge of what is 
true and what is false doctrine, and the religious controversies, 
that today cause the true disciples of Jesus Christ to dwell apart 
from each other in opposing camps would be as a morning cloud 
and as the early dew that quickly pass away (Hos. 6:4). 


CuHapter III 
THE SIGNIFICANCE OF SACRED NUMBERS 


Sacred Numbers Throw Light on the Meaning of Scripture 

Another principle that must be considered is the use made in 
Scripture of Sacred Numbers. There are some who may ridi- 
cule this suggestion as cabalistic, and decide without further 
troubling themselves to investigate that they will have nothing 
to do with what they regard as mere triviality. Others may 
consider the suggestion as the intimation of an intention to 
wrest the teaching of the Bible. It is unfortunate for those 
who may take such a position or draw such conclusions, espe- 
cially if they persist in that frame of mind. For it can be 
plainly demonstrated that Sacred Numbers were employed by 
the prophets, were used by Jesus Himself in some of His 
teachings, also that they are everywhere employed throughout 
the Book of the Revelation, and further there are many portions 
of Scripture of which the full meaning and significance will 
rightly be understood only when these Sacred Numbers are 
recognized, when their meaning is understood, and when the 
purpose for which they were employed is duly considered. 

Among all who have interested themselves in the subject of 
Sacred Numbers it is commonly recognized that a certain mys- 
tical value is attached to numbers in both the later Jewish and 
the early Christian philosophy. While the Bible has nowhere 
expressly endorsed the idea, yet it does furnish, as will be 
shown, numerous examples of the use made of such numbers 
by the inspired writers. Those who desire to investigate the 
subject for themselves may consult any good Dictionary of the 
Bible, such as Smith’s, or Schaff-Herzog, or any other similar 
work, or they might read the commentary of Seiss on the 
Revelation. 

33 


34 IS THE KINGDOM AGE AT HAND? 


Meaning of Sacred Numbers 


Without presenting at length the reasoning by which the 
meaning of certain numbers is determined, there are given here 
the substantially-agreed-upon conclusions of Christian students 
who have given special attention to this subject: 


One, represents the unity of the Godhead (Deut. 6:4; 
Eph. 4:5). 

Two, ane for God-the Father and Son in covenant 
relation. Two Testaments or Covenants, the Old and 
the New. Attention might also be called to the fact, 
that the name Jehovah is never applied to God the 
Father except when the covenant relation with His 
Son is indicated (Ps. 2); the suffering Servant of 
Jehovah (Isa. 42: 1-7; 49: 1-7; 52:13-15; 53:1I-12). 

Three, represents the Trinity, and a divine work (2 
Cort setae 

Four, signifies the earth with its four corners, four direc- 
tions: N. S. E. W., four winds, etc. 

Five, points to human incompleteness and insufficiency 
(Mattulas i7siebeen Thora dao}, 

Six represents evil, the Devil, Antichrist, the consum- 
mation of evil, 666, or 616 indicating God’s control of 
evil, and of the evil one. The number One between 
Sixiand) Six! 

Seven, stands for dispensational fulness or completion: 
seventh year Sabbath multiplied by seven ushers in the 
Jubilee (Lev. chapter 25). 

Eight, represents a new beginning: eight persons in the 
ark; a child to be circumcised on the eighth day. 

Nine, signifies human imperfection and shortcoming 
CLK 7217). 

Ten, stands for the completion of man’s imperfect work 
(Matts:28:223. LK aiowaens 

Twelve, represents the complete or finished work of God: 
twelve months in a year; twelve tribes of Israel; twelve 
apostles; twelve foundations, and twelve gates for the 
New Jerusalem. 


Sacred Numbers in the Teachings of Jesus 


The use that Jesus made of Sacred Numbers appears for 
example in the seven parables of the Kingdom to illustrate its 
beginning, progress, and consummation during this present evil 
age and down to the very end of the dispensation. Seven indi- 


THE SIGNIFICANCE OF SACRED NUMBERS 35 


cating dispensational completion. These same parables are 
further divided into two groups: the first of three parables in 
which the divine work is set forth; and the last group of four 
parables, and in the first parable of this second group leaven or 
evil is introduced to set forth the work of man who is of the 
earth, earthy,—a work that at the end will require the separa- 
tion of the wicked from the just. 


Sacred Numbers in the Book of the Revelation 

The employment of these numbers in the Book of the Revela- 
tion is recognized and admitted by all expositors of every school. 
The Revelation has been called, as it undoubtedly is, the book 
of Sevens, even by some who fail to catch the significance of 
the fact. It is the book of seven stars, seven candlesticks, 
seven epistles, seven churches, seven spirits, seven eyes, seven 
seals, seven trumpets, seven bowls, seven plagues, etc: Thus 
to all who understood the meaning, and who consider the sig- 
nificance of the number seven, the fact cannot escape attention 
that dispensational fulness or completion is proclaimed from 
the beginning to the end of this wonderful prophecy. 

But a further use of Sacred Numbers throughout the Reve- 
lation is not less in evidence although not so generally recog- 
nized. The seven epistles are divided into two groups. In the 
first three epistles the call to hear what the Spirit saith comes 
before the promise given to him that overcometh; in the last 
four epistles this same call comes after the promise to him that 
overcometh. And in the first three churches to which the 
epistles are sent it is the good that predominates as the result 
of divine work, while in the last four it is evil and wickedness 
that hold the supreme place; thus indicating very plainly the 
work of man who is of the earth, earthy. The seven seals also 
are divided into two groups of four and three. The first four 
present earthly agencies: horses going forth; while the last 
three point unmistakably to divine agencies: the altar, the earth- 
quake, and the angelic trumpeters. 

The seven trumpets also are similarly divided: four trumpets 
followed by three woe trumpets and these two groups set forth 
respectively natural and supernatural agencies employed in 
sending judgments upon the earth. Further, when the fifth 


36 IS THE KINGDOM AGE AT HAND? 


trumpet sounds (five, the number for human insufficiency), 
which is the first woe trumpet, God makes a difference between 
men and only those who have not the seal of God on their fore- 
heads are to suffer from the judgments. 

And the bowls of wrath are divided into three groups of 
three, three, and one. In the first three plagues God employs 
natural agencies; in the next three, supernatural agencies are 
used to fulfil His will, while the last and final plague combines 
both natural and supernatiiral agencies : the earthquake, and the 
hail such as never was seen before. Thus is filled up the cup 
of the wrath of God to be poured out upon the Beast or the 
Antichrist and his kingdom. 

The fact of dividing these sevens into groups of three and 
four, or four and three, and the last into three, three, and one, 
has a meaning that should not be overlooked. But while these 
divisions may be recognized and admitted, yet the significance 
will be understood only by those who have in mind what these 
Sacred Numbers represent and what their use in the prophecy 
is intended to indicate. 


The Great Day of the Lord 

It is further to be noted that the opening of the sixth seal 
brings men face to face with the great day of the wrath of God 
and of the Lamb (Rev. 6:17). The sounding of the sixth 
trumpet (Rev. 9: 13-19), and also the pouring out of the sixth 
bowl direct attention to the Gentile nations prepared to engage 
in the battle of Armageddon,—the battle of that great day of 
God Almighty (Rev. 16:14, 16,17). Here, then, the number 
six which stands for evil, for the Devil, and for Satan’s chief 
representative on earth, the Antichrist, leads up to one and the 
same event, namely, the great and dreadful day of the Lord 
when the great winepress of the wrath of God will be trodden 
without the city of Jerusalem by the Rider on the white horse. 
This Rider will be the returning Christ Who is King of kings 
and Lord of lords and those who would not have the God-man 
to reign over them will at that time be completely overthrown 
and slain (Rev. 14:19, 20; 19:17-21). Surely the very mani- 
fest, constant, and consistent employment of these Sacred 
Numbers, I, 3, 4, 6, 7, 10, 12, in this Book of the Revelation 


THE SIGNIFICANCE OF SACRED NUMBERS 37 


was not a mere accident. These numbers were evidently used 
designedly by the inspired penman, and their significance makes 
plain and easily understood the teachings of this prophecy for 
those who have eyes to see or who have discernment by the 
Holy Spirit. 


CHaptTer IV 


NINE GREAT COVENANTS 


The Covenants Must Be Distinguished 

Another principle or rule to be carefully observed by those 
who wish to understand the Book of the Revelation or of any 
of the prophecies of Scripture requires that the several cove- 
nants revealed in the Bible for our learning shall be recognized 
and distinguished. It is not less important to distinguish also 
the different parties to these covenants; also the different prom- 
ises offered as a reward for the keeping of the same, and the 
different penalties threatened and to be visited upon covenant- 
breakers. All of these things should be kept intelligently in 
mind and the several promised rewards and the threatened 
penalties, which are both parts of the covenants, should never be 
appropriated or applied to any person or group of persons other 
than such as are parties to the particular covenant in which said 
rewards and penalties are embodied. 


Confusion Follows Neglect to Distinguish Between Things 
That Differ 


The oath-bound covenant which God made with David and 
his sons assured to them the right to the throne, and a reason- 
able interpretation of Scripture demands that the right shall be 
limited to David’s house to the exclusion of all other families 
even though these families, not less than David and his sons, 
were of the tribe of Judah. This requirement all intelligent 
persons will admit without any quibbling; hence they should 
also recognize that it is contrary to the principles of sound 
exegesis to hand over the blessings provided in the Sinaitic 
covenant for the nation of Israel to those who are not and who 
never were parties to that covenant. 


38 


NINE GREAT COVENANTS 39 


The very common disregard of the rule that requires all who 
desire to understand the Scriptures to distinguish carefully 
between persons and things that are entirely different has re- 
sulted in making the Bible a sealed book to multitudes of 
Christians who today have but little understanding of the 
Scriptures, especially of the great prophecies written therein. 
It has led also to the setting forth of many false doctrines which 
fortunately do not conflict with the truth that is essential to 
salvation. 


The Covenant of Redemption 

The Bible reveals with greater or less clearness that there are 
in all nine different covenants. And (1) The Covenant of 
Redemption to which God the Father and God the Son are 
Parties. This covenant was ratified in eternity. Its purpose 
was to satisfy and to harmonize the divine holiness, justice, and 
truth with the act of pardoning, cleansing, and restoring to 
divine favor and fellowship a race that had come under the 
curse of sin and were justly deserving of its penalty. 

This Covenant was made possible by the infinite love of the 
Father for the lost race of humanity,—a love that moved him 
(a) to accept His only Begotten Son as the Substitute for sin- 
ners, (b) to lay upon that Beloved Son the iniquity of us all, 
(c) to deal with Him as though He were the real culprit, and 
hence (d) to require that He should make His soul an offering 
for sin. Nothing less than these conditions would fully satisfy 
the demands of divine justice and vindicate the truth of God 
Who had declared, The soul that sinneth shall die. 

Further, this Covenant was made possible because of the 
infinite love of the Son of God Who so loved the world of lost 
humanity that He was moved (a) to voluntarily empty Himself 
of the glory and power of deity which He possessed on equality 
with the Father, (b) to submit willingly to the humiliation and 
demotion of being born of a woman, (c) to take on Himself 
man’s nature and likeness so that He would be bone of our 
bone and flesh of our flesh, (d) to obey perfectly the law of 
God and so to qualify as the Substitute of a ruined race, and 
as the Saviour and Redeemer of sin-cursed humanity (e) to 
die for us on the Cross. Since Jesus thus agreed to satisfy 


40 IS THE KINGDOM AGE AT HAND? 


every claim of divine justice on behalf of sinners it was possible 
for Him to free man from the law as a covenant of works, and 
to open the way as the Mediator of a new covenant for dealing 
with sinners graciously. 


The Promise of the Covenant 

This Covenant provided that as the Second Adam the God- 
Man would become the Federal Head of a new race that was 
to include (a) all such members of the human family as should 
be spiritually born again, washed, and sanctified, or set apart 
unto God by the Holy Spirit, (b) such, also, as should be justi- 
fied and saved in Christ by having imputed to them all the 
merits of His perfect obedience, and by being permitted to 
share in His vicarious death by which atonement was made for 
their sins, and (c) all who should receive the free gift of 
eternal life to be bestowed upon them on the one condition of 
their possessing and exercising intelligent and true faith in 
Christ as their Redeemer. 

And in consideration of Christ’s work being duly performed 
to make possible such a new race, the promise of the Covenant 
to Him was that He should be the rightful inheritor of the earth 
over which He should have the dominion. And agreeable to 
His own pleasure He could then share all earthly glory, honor 
and riches with His redeemed whom He had ransomed with 
His own blood. 

A further promise of that Covenant assured that the humilia- 
tion, suffering and death which Jesus Christ endured volun- 
tarily because of His incomprehensible love for the world of 
lost humanity should not be in vain. He was therefore guar- 
anteed that He should see of the travail of His soul and be 
satished. And it may be safely concluded that a love great 
enough to die for enemies would not be satisfied with the salva- 
tion of merely a comparative handful. 

The special condition of this Covenant of Redemption that 
required not the death of the body only, but rather that the 
very soul of the Son of Man should be made an offering for 
sin; or in other words, that He would submit to be even for- 
saken of God, was the cup that the Father gave Him to drink 
to the bitter dregs. And from the drinking of that cup there 


NINE GREAT COVENANTS 4] 


was no possible escape for Christ Who as the Substitute was 
made sin for us. 

This therefore was a just covenant. There is in it not a 
single element of grace which remits the penalty and pardons 
the guilty—the very acts which justice does not and cannot 
perform, or it would cease to be justice. Hence, notwithstand- 
ing the infinite love of the Father for His Only Begotten Son, 
Who had become the Substitute for sinners, it was impossible 
for a just God to deal with Him graciously. And there is not 
an element of grace to be found in the conditions imposed upon 
Christ in the Covenant of Redemption, and accepted by the 
Son of God. Herein is love; not that we loved Him, but that 
He loved us while we were yet enemies and gave Himself to be 
the propitiation for our sins. 

This Covenant therefore, in which every demand of divine 
justice was met and fully satisfied by a Substitute, was the 
ground and foundation on which rested every covenant that was 
ever made between a holy God and man as His sinful creature. 
In all succeeding covenants grace appears and is operative to 
a greater or less degree, although it was only after the con- 
ditions of the Covenant of Redemption were fully complied 
with at the First Advent, that it became clearly manifest that 
“race and truth came by Jesus Christ.” 


The Edenic Covenant 

In the (2) or The Edenic Covenant the parties were Jehovah, 
the Second Person of the Godhead, and Adam as he was at 
first created in God’s image and likeness. As created a perfect 
man in knowledge, righteousness, and holiness Adam was well 
pleasing to God, and he delighted also in the companionship and 
fellowship of His Creator. The Covenant made with him was 
ratified in time, not in eternity, and as the Federal head of the 
race which was to descend from him by ordinary generation, 
Adam accepted the condition of that Covenant which required 
full submission and perfect obedience to the will of God, both 
for himself and for his posterity. 

The Edenic Covenant assured to man the right to possess and 
enjoy the earth, to have the dominion over it and over all the 
lower orders of living creatures whether on the earth or in the 


42 IS THE KINGDOM AGE AT HAND? 


sea or in the air, provided its condition was satisfied. For 
failure to conform to the condition of that Covenant the penalty 
to be visited upon man was instant death: The day thou eatest 
of the forbidden fruit, thou shalt die. Yielding to the tempter, 
man broke the Covenant; he thus forfeited all claim to its 
blessings and incurred its penalty. 

But although after his fall man was driven out of the Garden 
of Eden to signify that he had forfeited his right to possess 
and to have the dominion over the earth; and although by his 
own act of hiding from God Adam revealed that he had suffered 
sin’s penalty, the death of his soul which depended for its life 
on near and intimate relation and fellowship with God, still as 
a physical being, and also under the curse of sin, man was 
permitted for a time at least both to live and to remain on 
the earth. 


The Covenant of the Altar 

This fact made necessary another covenant (3) The Covenant 
of the Altar. And to this covenant the parties were Jehovah 
(Jesus) and the fallen race as represented by both Adam and 
Eve. And to the fact so plainly recorded that after the Fall 
Adam and his wife continued to live and to dwell on the earth 
many infidels and atheists have directed attention. They thus 
support their contention that the Bible is not true, or if it is 
true then they claim that the God of the Bible does not tell thes 
truth because the record shows Adam did not die the very day 
he ate of the forbidden fruit. 


Divine Justice, saanaeentie and Truth Vindicated by the 
Substitute 

The difference between physical and spiritual death, or be- 
tween the death of the body as a necessary.consequence of sin, 
and the death of the soul as the wages or penalty of sin, can 
be easily explained. 

Even though as a physical being Adam continued to live, yet 
he suffered sin’s penalty. He was dead spiritually even while 
he lived physically. The body of man dies only when the spirit 
departs, or when the dissolution between his body and his soul 
occurs. The spirit or soul of man dies when, on account of sin, 


NINE GREAT COVENANTS 43 


it is banished from God’s Presence, or when it is forsaken by 
God and thus is separated from the Source on which its life 
depends. Adam hiding from God among the trees of the 
Garden establishes the fact that he died as a spiritual being 
the very day he ate of the forbidden fruit. 

But, although a sin-cursed creature, Adam not only lived on 
the earth as a physical being, but he continued also to enjoy 
divine fellowship and to receive divine favors. How can that 
fact be reconciled with the revelation that God his Creator is a 
Being of infinite holiness and righteousness; He cannot lie, His 
truth is unchanging, His justice is implacable and He is of 
purer eyes than even to look upon sin and fail to destroy it? 

Such seemingly contradictory facts of revelation can be har- 
monized only as one understands the operation of the merciful 
principle of substitution and the mediatorial system for both of 
which the Covenant of Redemption made provision. True, the 
conditions of that covenant were not satisfied by the Second 
Person of the adorable Trinity until in the fulness of time 
the Voice, or the Word of God became flesh. Then, having 
taken upon Himself our nature, He, as the God-Man by His 
life of perfect obedience to the holy law of God, by His death 
on the Cross as the sinner’s Substitute, and by His resurrection 
and ascension, discharged fully all the obligations accepted by 
Him as a Party to that covenant. Nevertheless that covenant 
which rested on the foundation of justice and judgment fur- 
nished the only ground on which it was possible for the Voice 
of God, or Jehovah Jesus, to stand after man’s fall and as the 
Mediator of all other covenants entered into between a holy 
God and a fallen and sin-cursed race to introduce the element 
of grace in dealing with the guilty. 

And the distinction between mercy and grace is here to be 
noted. Mercy is the manifestation of love and good will to the 
miserable. Grace is the provision of love and good will made 
for the guilty. As merciful God makes His sun to rise upon 
the evil and the good, and sendeth rain upon the just and the 
unjust. God’s mercy is over all His works. But since God is 
just He cannot deal graciously with sinners while their guilt 
rests upon them. God must be just even when He justifies the 
ungodly. 


44 IS THE KINGDOM AGE AT HAND? 


Hence the Covenant of Redemption provides a Substitute for 
the guilty and so makes possible the exercise of grace in dealing 
with fallen and sin-cursed humanity. The Substitute which 
that covenant provided for sinners released them from the 
claims of divine justice by taking their place under the law, and 
suffering sin’s penalty in their room and stead. And since 
divine justice was satisfied by the Just One on behalf of the 
unjust it was possible under the mediatorial system to deal 
graciously with sinners, to secure the temporary suspension at 
least of the consequences of sin which man had incurred under 
the Edenic covenant, and further to secure for him the benefit 
of the Altar with its bleeding victim to direct his thoughts to 
the Cross of Calvary, and to the Lamb of God Who in due time 
would make atonement for his sins, and not for his sins only, 
but also for the sins of the whole world. 


Jesus, the Way, the Truth, and the Life 


Thus, as the inspired psalmist declared, ‘““Mercy and truth 
are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each 
other or are reconciled (in the Covenant of Redemption). 
Truth (the God-Man, born of a woman) shall spring out of 
the earth, and righteousness shall look down from heaven” | 
(Ps. 85:10, 11). Jesus, therefore, the Lamb of God slain 
before the foundation of the earth (by covenant engagement) 
is the TRUTH because in Him as the Substitute died the souls 
of sinners; He also is the WAY of approach unto God and the 
LIFE which depends on fellowship with God because in Him 
the sinner not only dies unto sin, but also rises again to the 
new life of holiness, and because it is only through Him that 
that the banished can return unto God. 

The gracious arrangement made possible by the Covenant of 
Redemption, by which man, after having justly incurred the 
penalty of sin, was permitted to live and to remain on the earth 
in covenant with God, also provided the Altar with its bleeding 
victim to be a constant reminder of the truth that without the 
shedding of blood there was no remission for sin. And to this 
altar all were to bring a lamb to be sacrificed as a substitute 
for the worshiper whose sins had earned for him death as the 
wages. 


NINE GREAT COVENANTS 45 


The Seed of the Serpent and the Seed of the Woman 

As the result of this sacrificial requirement there appeared 
also the two seeds, the seed of the serpent and the seed of the 
woman. ‘The latter seed was represented by the men of the 
altar; but against this divinely appointed provision the seed of 
the serpent quickly rebelled. Then also the two seeds began 
to contend with each other for possession of the earth and for 
dominion over it. This conflict continued until the seed of the 
woman was represented by only eight persons, while the. ser- 
pent’s seed prospered on the earth, built a great city, developed 
a splendid civilization, and was perfectly content to live with- 
out the altar. But the Flood came and all such persons were 
destroyed. | 


The Rainbow Covenant 


The parties to the (4) or the Rainbow Covenant were Jeho- 
vah and Noah, his sons, and every living creature that had found 
refuge in the ark. Eight persons only had escaped the flood of 
mighty waters. This Covenant, like all the covenants succeed- 
ing the Covenant of Redemption, was ratified in time, but it was 
appointed to continue for perpetual generations. By this Cov- 
enant there was given to man for food every living creature 
and also every green herb. The shedding of human blood was 
absolutely forbidden under pain of death, but the requirement 
for the altar and its victim was continued. Unconditionally 
this Covenant guaranteed to all flesh that “while the earth re- 
mained, seed time and harvest, cold and heat, summer and 
winter, day and night (eight great blessings in groups of two, 
for these eight new covenant beginners), should not cease.” It 
was further promised that “all flesh should not again be cut off 
by the waters of a flood, and neither should the earth be de- 
stroyed any more by a flood.” 


The Rainbow Made the Seal 


And as the seal of this perpetual covenant between God and 
all living creatures, and also the earth, God appointed the rain- 
bow, and promised, “I will look upon it, that I may remember 
the ever or age-lasting Covenant between God and every living 
creature of all flesh that is upon the earth.” 


46 IS THE KINGDOM AGE AT HAND? 


However, the descendants of Noah forgot God, and instead 
of exalting and trusting in Him, they proposed to make a name 
for themselves by building, on a plain in the land of Shinar, a 
great city and a tower that would reach unto heaven, in which 
to put their trust, so that they would not be scattered abroad. 
Hence God confounded their language and scattered them 
abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth before they 
could complete their city, the name of which, therefore, was 
called Babel, or confusion, because God did there confound the 
language of all the earth. Later on the same site the ancient 
city of Babylon was built and called by the same name, the 
spelling of which is somewhat changed because of the difference 
of language. 


The Abrahamic Covenant 

The (5) was the Abrahamic Covenant. And the parties to 
this Covenant were Jehovah and Abraham. He had heard God’s 
call to come out of Ur of the Chaldees and to go into Canaan, 
a land which Abram had never seen, but that God promised to 
show him. Under this Covenant there were promised to Abram 
at first that (a) God would make of him a great nation, (b) 
would bless him and make his name great, (c) that he should 
be a blessing, (d) that God would bless them that blessed him, 
(e) and curse them that cursed him, (f) that in him all the 
families of the earth should be blessed, and that (g) to his seed 
God would give the land of Canaan. 

Then after Abram and Lot had separated there were added 
two other promises to this Covenant, (a) North, south, east, 
and west, as far as Abram could see in every direction all the 
land within his horizon God promised to give to him and to 
his seed forever (an age) ; also (b) God promised to make his 
seed as the dust of the earth; so that if a man could number 
the dust of the earth, then Abram’s seed could be numbered. 
Thus the natural seed of Abram was to become an innumerable 
multitude. 

Again, when Abram inquired concerning an heir, God gave 
him the promise that Isaac should be his heir. Then it was 
commanded him, “Look up now to heaven, and tell the stars, if 
thou be able to number them; and God said unto him, So shall 


NINE GREAT COVENANTS AT 


thy seed be. And Abram believed in Jehovah, and God counted 
it to him for righteousness.” Thus Abram was promised not 
only a natural, but also a spiritual seed,—a seed to come be- 
cause of his faith in Jehovah, and this seed also was to be 
innumerable. 

At that time God gave the promise of enlarged boundaries 
that were to be given to Abram and his seed. He was assured 
(a) an earthly possession that would extend from the river of 
Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates, including the 
countries of ten nations; further, (b) his name was changed 
from Abram to Abraham because he was to become the father 
of many nations; God further promised, (c) to make him 
exceeding fruitful, (d) to make nations of him, (e) and that 
kings should come of him. And God declared (f) “I will 
establish My Covenant between Me and thee, and thy seed after 
thee in their generations for an ever or age-lasting Covenant, 
to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee.” Then 
again, (g¢) God renewed the promise to give unto Abraham and 
to his seed the land of Canaan for an age-lasting possession, 
and to be their God. 


Circumcision Was to be the Seal 

The seal of this Covenant was to be circumcision in the flesh 
because its promises and blessings were intended for the natural 
and not for the spiritual seed of Abraham. Notice also, that 
there was no other condition required than the seal of circum- 
cision in the flesh to assure to Abraham and to his seed the 
fulfilment to them in due time of the Abrahamic Covenant with 
all its advantages and benefits. 

At a yet later time when Abraham in faith and obedience was 
ready to offer Isaac upon the altar this Covenant was confirmed 
to him by the oath of God Who declared, “By Myself have I 
sworn, saith Jehovah, because thou hast done this thing, and 
hast not withheld thy son, thine only son; that in blessing I 
will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as 
the stars of the heaven, and as the sand that is upon the sea- 
shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemy; and 
in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because 
thou hast obeyed My voice.” 


48 IS THE KINGDOM AGE AT HAND? 


In so far as these great promises were to be realized in the 
experience of Abraham himself comparatively few of them have 
as yet been fulfilled. Some of the promises have been fulfilled 
in part in the experience of his natural seed, but for the greater 
part this oath-confirmed Covenant awaits the future for its 
fulfilment. And to Abraham it was revealed that he should 
die (Gen. 15:12, 15), without having received the promises. 
But he was further assured that God’s Covenant with him 
would survive not only the four hundred years during which: 
time it had been revealed to: Abraham that his seed would be 
afflicted as strangers in a land that was not their’s (vs. 13, 14), 
but also that not even the long night of death could annul that 
Covenant; because God (symbolized by the smoking furnace) 
(Ex. 19:18) would be with Abraham (symbolized by the burn- 
ing lamp), (John 5:35), and thus assure the fulfilment of that 
Covenant in due time. And the day is speeding on, and is not 
now far distant when God will fulfil every promise made in that 
Covenant to the very letter. 


The Stnaitic Covenant 

(6) The Sinaitic Covenant. This Covenant was entered into 
between Jehovah and the nation of Israel in the third month 
after Israel had come out of the land of Egypt and had come to 
the wilderness of Sinai. The purpose of this Covenant was to 
serve as the constitution of the new-born nation which, not 
less than each person for himself, was required to enter into 
covenant relation with God as the condition of enjoying His 
favor and blessing. This Covenant contains what is commonly 
referred to in both the Old and New Testaments as “the law,” 
or “the law of Moses.” It consists of three parts each of which 
is essential to the other and the three combined constitute the 
one law in which is declared the will of God to govern national 
conduct; and behind this law there is the authority of the 
Triune God. 

In the first division, and so at the very head of the national 
constitution, is the moral law, or Ten Commandments, which 
declare the righteous will of God in harmony with which every 
subject of the nation, and not less the legislators, jurists, and 
rulers are to regulate their conduct (Ex, 20: 1-26). 


NINE GREAT COVENANTS 49 


In the second division of this law are found the judgments 
which declare the righteous will of God according to which the 
social life and conduct of the citizens of the nation must be 
determined and regulated in all their dealings one with another. 
And these judgments were to be enforced by the civil power 
with duly prescribed penalties (Ex. 21:1 to 24:11). The 
relation between the free and the bond, or between ruler and 
ruled, is defined by these judgments, and they set forth the 
rights of persons and of property; they also prohibit social 
crimes such as are commonly committed against the weak, and 
against strangers more freely than against others; they provide 
for a weekly Sabbath of rest; also for the year Sabbath to be 
observed after every six years in the interest of the poor, and 
they appoint three national feasts to be duly observed in remeni- 
brance of God’s care over the nation, and in recognition of His 
gracious favors and blessings. 

In the third and last division there are given the ordinances 
which declare the righteous will of God for the regulation of 
the religious life of the nation. And under these ordinances are 
found the statutes regarding the tabernacle, the priests that 
minister therein, and the worshipers (Ex. 24:12 to 31:18; 
Ps. 19: 7-11). 


Mount Gerizim and Mount Ebal 


And all the people as a nation were to subscribe to this law 
and covenant. Also, it was for the purpose of commemorating 
this law, embodied in the Sinaitic Covenant, that the nation was 
required, when it had passed over the Jordan and had come into 
possession of the land of Canaan, to set up two Memorial 
stones; the one stone on Mount Gerizim, and the other on 
Mount Ebal, and in the hearing of all the children of Israel 
both the blessings and the curses of the law were to be recited. 
Conditioned on national obedience to the Sinaitic Covenant God 
promised that that nation should be “a peculiar treasure unto 
Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine; and ye shall be 
unto Me a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation” (Ex. 
19: 3-7). Disobedience to this Covenant was to bring the curses 
upon that nation. With that understanding the Covenant was 
duly ratified by that nation. 


50 IS THE KINGDOM AGE AT HAND? 


Nevertheless the history of that people both in the wilder- 
ness and in the land is one long record of the continual violation 
of that law and of disregard for covenant obligations. This 
resulted, first, in the rejection of the kingdom of Israel, and 
second, of the kingdom of Judah. In each case the rejection 
was followed by the captivities from which only the kingdom 
of Judah, after seventy years, returned to the land, and there 
remained until a few years after that people had crucified and 
finally rejected the Messiah Who had predicted that the King- 
dom would be taken from them and given to a nation that 
would bring forth the fruits thereof. 


The Davidic Covenant 


The seventh (7) was the Davidic Covenant to which the 
parties were Jehovah and King David. And because David 
had purposed to build an house in which Jehovah was to dwell 
in the midst of the nation, therefore, while denying David per- 
mission to carry out his purpose, still God promised that after 
David’s death He would raise up for him a Seed Who would 
carry out David’s purpose to build an house for God. And 
concerning this promised Seed God gave the assurance, “I will 
establish the throne of His Kingdom for ever (an age).”’ But 
it was further promised to David, “Thine house and thy king- 
dom shall be established forever (an age) before thee; thy 
throne shall be established forever (an age).’ Moreover the 
people of Israel were included in the blessings of this Covenant, 
for Jehovah promised, “I will appoint a place for My people 
Israel, and will plant them, that they may dwell in a place of 
their own, and move no more: neither shall the children of 
wickedness afflict them any more, as beforetimes’ (2 Sam. 
7:1-16). There was no condition whatever attached to the 
fulfilment of this Covenant which God confirmed unto David 
with an oath (Ps. 89:1-4). 

David fully understood that the promises contained in this 
Covenant were “for a great while to come’ (2 Sam. 7:19), 
therefore they were not fulfilled by Solomon, the son and im- 
mediate successor of David on the throne. Aside from having 
raised up Christ, the promised Seed (Acts 2:25-31), God has 
not even to this day begun to fulfil these exceeding great and 


NINE GREAT COVENANTS 51 


precious promises to David and his house although behind this 
Covenant is the oath of the great Jehovah. Can any one who 
knows and believes in the mighty God of Jacob doubt for one 
moment that in the fullness of time these promises will all be 
literally fulfilled? 


The New Covenant in Christ’s Blood. 

The eighth (8) is the New Covenant in Christ’s Blood. 
This Covenant was not ready to be offered and could not be 
ratified by any one until after Christ’s blood was shed on ‘the 
Cross of Calvary. To this Covenant the parties are Jesus 
Christ and all who are willing to confess Him as their Lord and 
engage to serve Him. 


Baptism Is the Seal 

And of this Covenant baptism is the seal. The blessings it 
provides are (1) full and complete salvation from sin, its curse 
and penalty even to the uttermost, and the gift of God which is 
eternal life on the one condition of true faith in Jesus Christ; 
(2) the reward of glory to be conferred upon each true believer 
in just proportion to his works of faith and labor of love in the 
service of the divine Master; and then (3) to those willing to 
do all things whatsoever Christ has commanded and so measure 
up to the high calling of God in Christ Jesus the additional 
promise of this Covenant assures the indwelling and abiding 
presence of the Holy Spirit. 

It is this New Covenant in Christ’s blood that is brought 
to mind at every observance of the Sacrament of the Lord’s 
Supper. The broken bread serves as a symbol of the Crucified 
One; and the taking and eating of that bread bear witness to 
the faith that appropriates Christ so that we become one with 
Him in His death, resurrection and ascension, and also in His 
return in glory to reign in His Kingdom on the earth. The 
cup serves as a symbol, not merely of the shed blood, as so 
many appear to think, but rather and especially as Jesus ex- 
plained, ‘““The CUP is the NEW COVENANT in My blood 
shed for the remission of sins.” And the taking and drink- 
ing of that Cup serve as a public testimony to covenant en- 
gagements; and bear witness to the faith that appropriates to 


52 IS THE KINGDOM AGE AT HAND? 


self all the benefits of that New Covenant. And as often as 
opportunity is present we are commanded to observe this 
Supper in remembrance of Christ until He come. 


The Restored Land Covenant 


The ninth (9) and last covenant, not in importance, nor 
yet in the time of its ratification, but in the time when it will 
become effective, is the Restored Land Covenant. ‘The parties 
to this Covenant are Jehoyah and the children of Israel. It 
was ratified in the land of Moab before that nation had come 
into possession of the promised land. Mention is made of the 
blessings already enjoyed by that nation, but there is also the 
prediction that all the curses of the Sinaitic Covenant are to 
be deserved and visited upon them because of national sins. 
This is all recorded in Deut. 29:1-29. Then, in Deut. 30:1-20, 
there is the further prediction that after the blessing and the 
curse have both been experienced that then the nation will 
repent, and return unto Jehovah their God, and obey with all 
their heart and soul all that God commanded them. Then God 
promised to turn their captivity, to have compassion upon them, 
to gather them from all the nations whither He scattered them, 
even though they have been driven to the uttermost parts of 
heaven, and He will then bring them back to the land of thew 
fathers; they shall again possess it, and God will bless and 
multiply them more than their fathers, give them a circumcised 
heart, remove all the curses from them, and send these curses 
on their enemies, and under the favor of Jehovah they will 
be greatly blessed and prospered. 

This Restored Land Covenant has not been fulfilled. But 
there is the Zionist movement and other signs that clearly indi- 
cate, to those at least who really believe all that the prophets 
have spoken, that the day is not very far distant when Israel 
as a nation will repent of its sins. Then, although still blindly 
rejecting their Messiah, that nation will return to its own land 
and to the worship of Jehovah the God of Israel according to 
all the forms and ceremonies of the Mosaic ritual. Then will 
follow the final testing of that people, according to the teach- 
ings of Scripture, to be followed by the Kingdom age when 
this Restored Land Covenant will become operative, and Je- 


NINE GREAT COVENANTS bbe 


hovah Jesus will do for the Jews and for Israel according to 
all the promises of this covenant. 


Sacred Numbers and the Covenants 


It is interesting to note how the character of these nine 
covenants correspond to the significance of sacred numbers. 
The Restored Land Covenant as the ninth is significant of 
human imperfection and shortcoming. But if the first covenant 
be omitted since man was not a party to it, then the ninth 
becomes the eighth covenant between God and man, and eight is 
the number of new beginning. 

The New Covenant in Christ’s Blood as the eighth is signifi- 
cant of the new beginning made by those who have died unto 
sin and live unto righteousness, while as the seventh covenant, 
it is a reminder of the dispensational fulness and completion 
of the atoning sacrifice offered on Calvary. 

The Davidic Covenant as the seventh reveals the fulness of 
dispensational blessings in store for David’s Royal Seed, for 
David’s house and for King David himself in the Kingdom 
age which will be the seventh dispensation; while as the sixth 
covenant it is a reminder of David’s terrible sins of adultery 
and murder, which although graciously pardoned were at that 
time not to be forgotten, and so he was disqualified from 
building an house for the Holy One of Israel. 

The Sinaitic as the sixth which is the number of evil and 
of Satan recalls how under the temptation of that old Serpent 
the Devil, Adam broke the first, the eighth, and the tenth com- 
mandments, and by his sin brought death and all our woe upon 
the race, while as the fifth covenant it is significant of the in- 
completeness and insufficiency of fallen humanity to satisfy 
the demands of a holy and righteous law which makes necessary, 
therefore, the work of the Redeemer Who delivers us from 
that law as a covenant of works. 

The Abrahamic Covenant as the fifth suggests the weakness 
and insufficiency even of such a man as Abraham, the friend of 
God and the father of the faithful, always to withstand the 
tempter, while as the fourth, the number of the earth, it re- 
minds of God’s promise to give unto him and to his seed after 
him the whole land of Canaan. 


54 IS THE KINGDOM AGE AT HAND? 


The Rainbow Covenant as the fourth is significant of God’s 
promise not again to destroy the earth with a flood of waters, 
while as the third covenant it recalls the fact that of all persons 
then on the earth Noah only was found righteous in the eyes of 
a holy God, and so the Trinity Father, Son, and Spirit could 
hold fellowship with him on the earth. 

The Covenant of the Altar as the third suggests the work of 
the Triune God in bringing back the banished,—a work that 
required the Spirit to sanctify, or to set apart, the Son to pay 
the ransom price, and the Father to justify by the acceptance 
of His Beloved Son as the sinner’s Substitute under the law, 
while as the second it is significant of the Covenant of Redemp- 
tion in which God the Father and God the Son stand in 
covenant relation for man’s sake. 

The Edenic Covenant as the second at once suggests the neces- 
sity for the Covenant of Redemption to which the Father and 
the Son were parties, while as the first covenant with Adam, 
who was made in God’s image and after His likeness, it is sug- 
gestive of the unity of the Godhead in the creation of man. 

And behind and furnishing the foundation for all the other 
covenants stands the first great Covenant, the Covenant of 
Redemption, that signifies the unity of the Godhead in the divine 
purpose and plan to devise and to carry to completion whatever 
means were required to make possible the restoration of the 
banished, and the salvation of the lost race of humanity. 

Such then are the several covenants. And to understand the 
teachings of Scripture it is absolutely necessary to distinguish 
between them, to learn the purpose of each covenant, the prom- 
ises they contain, the conditions imposed, if there are any, and 
the penalty to be visited upon the covenant breakers. 


The Parties to the Covenants Are Not to Be Confused 

And surely it is not less important to clearly distinguish be- 
tween those who are the parties to these several covenants. If 
these covenants and these parties were merely parts of ancient 
history, in which our only interest was to have an intelligent 
understanding of them, it would still be important even then to 
distinguish carefully between things that were wholly different. 


NINE GREAT COVENANTS 55 


The Covenants Are God’s Word 

But these covenants are not dead although some appear to 
think that they are. They are a part and a very important part 
of the living Word of God. Hence it is impossible to read 
the Bible intelligently, even more impossible to understand the 
prophecies of Scripture, apart from a discriminating knowl- 
edge of the several covenants. 


Different Parties to Each of the Covenants 


Three of the eight covenants to which our race or certain 
members of the human family are parties have seals. The 
Rainbow is the seal of God’s Covenant with the mere earth- 
dwellers, or the unregenerate world today. This Covenant made 
with Noah and his sons includes the obligation which was placed 
upon the world in the Edenic Covenant of obedience to the will 
of the Creator; and it includes also the requirement found in 
the Covenant of the Altar that sin must be atoned for either by 
the sinner himself or by a Substitute acceptable to the Creator. 

Circumcision in the flesh is the seal of the Abrahamic Cove- 
nant which includes the requirements imposed on men gener- 
ally in the Rainbow Covenant. This covenant was supplemented 
later by the Sinaitic Covenant which requires national obedience 
to God’s will, by the Restored Land Covenant with its promise 
of national restoration when that nation has found and accepted 
its Redeemer or Messiah, and by the Davidic Covenant which 
assures the nation that as God’s earthly people David will be 
their king and reign over them in Jerusalem as his capital city. 

Baptism is the seal of the New Covenant in Christ’s Blood. 
This Covenant secures true Christians a release from all the 
obligations both of the Rainbow and also of the Abrahamic 
Covenants as conditions of blessings, and at the same time it 
assures them even greater blessings because the parties to it 
as joint-heirs with Christ will be inheritors of the earth and of 
all the fulness with which it is stored; they will also enter the 
joy of their Lord in that day when the Redeemer shall come to 
Zion and it shall be called, the City of Jehovah, the Zion (or 
Fortress) of the Holy One of Israel (Isa. 59:20; 60:14). 
Then also Zion, the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be 
established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted 


56 IS THE KINGDOM AGE AT HAND? 


above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it (Isa. 2:2), 
because all ends of the earth shall remember and shall turn 
unto the Lord. 

All three of these covenants with seals which indicate that 
they are complete, appear in the Book of the Revelation and 
are easily recognized, while the Abrahamic Covenant is insep- 
arably connected also with Daniel’s prophecy of the Seventy 
Weeks. To understand the prophecies, therefore, requires that 
the covenants and not less*the parties also to each of these 
covenants shall be distinguished one from the other. 


The Jews, the Gentiles and the Church 


In the Bible these parties are always most carefully dis- 
tinguished, and they are referred to intelligently. In the Old 
Testament the children of Israel are never confounded with 
the Gentiles. The tribe of Judah or the Jews everywhere pre- 
serve their tribal identity the same as do all and each of the 
other tribes although they are all children of Israel. And in 
the New Testament the same care is shown to preserve the 
distinction between the Church, the Jews, and the Gentiles: 
“Give none offense, neither to the Jew, nor to the Gentiles, nor 
to the Church of God,” writes the apostle to the Corinthians 
(1 Cor. 10:32). At times the Gentiles are called the nations, 
or as the same word is often translated, the heathen. They 
are also called the world or barbarians. But all persons men- 
tioned in the Bible by any of these names belong to that world 
of unregenerate humanity that lieth in the evil one. This is 
the world of wicked men and seducers that wax worse and 
worse. All of these persons are parties to the Rainbow Cove- 
nant whether they so understand or are ignorant of the fact. 
Only the Jews and the Israelites are parties to the Abrahamic 
Covenant; and all professed Christians, whether sincere be- 
lievers or mere hypocrites, are parties to the New Covenant 
in Christ’s Blood. 


Christians Classified in the Bible 

But in the New Testament professed Christians are further 
distinguished from each other. They are classified in four 
different groups, (1) wicked servants (Lk 19:22; 1 Cor. 3:12- 


NINE GREAT COVENANTS 57 


15); (2) faithful servants, (Lk. 19:17, 18); (3) friends of 
the Bridegroom (John 3:29; 15:15; Lk. 14:10), and (4) the 
Bride of Christ or the Lamb’s Wife (John 3:29; Rev. 21:2, 9; 
27:17). All of these four groups are in the visible Church 
which is call the Body of Christ and of which He is the Saviour, 
while the last group only compose the True Church, or the 
Church in mystery of which Christ is the Head (Eph. 3:23; 
Rom. 12:3-8). 

In the Body of Christ there are many members who differ in 
the measure of faith possessed, in gifts, in grace, in the posi- 
tion they hold in the Body whether more or less exalted and 
honorable (1 Cor. 12:12-31). But those in the group who 
compose the Bride class, the little flock, the Church in mystery 
are all and each equally endowed, and together they form a 
glorious Church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; 
but that it should be holy, and without blemish (Eph. 5:27, 
32). Possibly the great mystery of which Paul speaks, (Eph. 
5 :30-32), is revealed by the apostle Peter when he mentions 
those who, under certain conditions, “might be partakers of the 
divine nature,’ (2 Pet. 1:4). 

In the Parable of the Sower also (Matt. 13:18-23), Jesus 
describes four general classes among those who hear the word 
of the Kingdom. However among the wicked servants He 
gives three examples: “The way-side,”’ “the stony-place,” and 
“the thorny-ground” hearers are all wicked servants. But the 
fruit-bearing hearers are also of three different ranks: “some 
bear fruit an hundredfold (the Bride class); some sixtyfold 
(the friend of the Bridgegroom class); some thirtyfold (the 
faithful servant class).” Those who are saved by their faith 
and to all of whom, therefore, the door is open to receive a 
full reward (2 John 8; 1 Tim. 3:13), (for the reward of 
glory will be to every man as his work shall appear), will not 
all alike put forth the same effort, nor manifest the same love 
and devotion for the service, nor make equal sacrifices, nor 
attain like results for the glory of God. Hence, as one star 
differeth from another star in glory, so shall it be in the Resur- 
rection. The Scriptures make it very plain that among the 
saved some will lose all reward of glory, others will receive but 
little, and only the few will receive the full reward, and obtain 


58 IS THE KINGDOM AGE AT HAND? 


the prize of “the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” One 
should recognize this fact and carefully distinguish between 
Christians who differ in attainments, if the Bible is to be read 
intelligently and understandingly. 


CHAPTER V: 
THE TIME ELEMENT IN PROPHECY 


Different Methods of Reckoning Tue. 

There is yet one other rule to be observed, and its importance 
for the understanding of prophecy cannot be overestimated. 
This rule is that when the Abrahamic Covenant is suspended, 
because of the sins of the children of Israel, God ceases to 
reckon time until that Covenant is once again operative, and 
Israel is enjoying in some measure at least its blessings. It 
is absolutely essential to keep this rule in mind, and to apply 
the principle intelligently to certain prophecies or correct inter- 
pretation of them will be impossible. This same rule is further 
useful and necessary in order to harmonize Bible chronology 
with itself. 


Some Claim Bible Chronology Is of no Value 

By many expositors, Scripture chronology is considered hope- 
lessly confused, and regarded as absolutely worthless in trying 
to fix the dates for given events. One writer of wide reputa- 
tion for scholarship in his book on “The Introduction to Old 
Testament Literature,” calls attention in said book to 1 Kings 
6:1 which reads as follows: 


“And it came to pass in the four hundred and eightieth 
year after the children of Israel were come out of the 
land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon’s reign 
over Israel, in the month Zif, which is the second month, 
that he began to build the house of the Lord.” 


That writer then parallels this Scripture with the statement 
made by Paul in his address at Antioch before his Jewish breth- 
ren (Acts 13:17-22). According to Paul’s reckoning, after the 
children of Israel left Egypt, 


59 


60 IS THE KINGDOM AGE AT HAND? 


“God suffered their manners in the wilderness forty 
years; afterward He gave them judges about the space 
of four hundred and fifty years; afterward God gave 
them Saul as king by the space of forty years.” 


Then there followed the forty years of David’s reign, and 
to this must be added three years of Solomon’s reign, because 
at the beginning of his fourth year he began to build the temple. 
The sum of these years makes five hundred and seventy-three 
years from the time Israel*came out of Egypt until Solomon 
began to build the house of the Lord, instead of four hundred 
and eighty years, as recorded in the Book of Kings. Thus 
there is a difference of ninety-three years, and being unable to 
harmonize these Scriptures the writer of “The Introduction to 
Old Testament Literature” cut the Gordian knot by simply de- 
claring Bible chronology to be worthless. And such is the 
opinion of many expositors. 


Israel Sold Into Hands of Enemies 


This seeming discrepancy can be satisfactorily explained, 
and it can be shown that it is not a discrepancy at all, but 
rather a different method of reckoning time. In the Book of 
the Judges there are recorded five occasions when the children 
of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord. On these occasions 
their sins were so great that the anger of the Lord was hot 
against His people Israel, and He sold them into the hands 
of their enemies who greatly oppressed them. Thus Israel 
served Chushan-rishathaim eight years (ch. 3:8); Eglon, king 
of Moab, eighteen years (ch. 3:14); Jabim twenty years (ch. 
4:3); the Midianites seven years (ch. 6:1), and the Philistines 
forty years (ch. 13:1). The sum of these years of captivity 
and oppression total exactly ninety-three years, or the difference 
between four hundred and eighty years and five hundred and 
seventy-three years. In Judges 10:7, 8, mention is made of 
the Lord selling Israel into the hands of the Philistines, and 
into the hands of the children of Ammon. Then follows the 
account of eighteen years during which the children of Ammon 
greatly oppressed Israel; and the record declared that at the 
end of that time God delivered His people out of the hands of 
the children of Ammon by His servant Jephthah. But not one 


THE TIME ELEMENT IN PROPHECY 61 


word is written concerning the Philistine bondage until the 13th 
chapter, and there it is said, God’s people were afflicted by the 
Philistines for forty years, as stated above. Hence it is only 
reasonable to conclude, that the eighteen years of oppression by 
the Ammonites (recorded in ch. 10), are synchronous with 
the first eighteen of the forty years during which Israel was 
afflicted by the Philistines. 


God Does Not Reckon Time While Israel Is in the Hands of 
Enemies. 


The means, therefore, of reconciling this seeming discrep- 
ancy of ninety-three years, suggests the principle or rule that 
whenever, on account of their sins, the children of Israel are 
denied the protection and blessing of the Abrahamic Covenant 
and delivered up to the oppression of their enemies; that all 
such time, being lost to Israel under the Covenant, is not reck- 
oned or counted by God at all. But God waits until His people 
Israel are again in covenant relation with Him as their Pro- 
tector, Benefactor, and Friend, and then again He reckons time. 
Hence, in Scripture there are two entirely different methods 
used to register the flight of time: (1) Solar time as commonly 
reckoned by the number of days, weeks, and years. This was 
the method that God appointed for man (Gen. 1:14), and that 
Paul uses (Acts 13:17-22). (2) Covenant time, reckoned only 
while Israel enjoys in their own land the blessings and protec- 
tion of the Abrahamic Covenant. This is God’s method of reck- 
oning time, and the method used by His servants the prophets. 


This Method Used by Daniel the Prophet 


This rule may be tested on Daniel’s prophecy of the Seventy 
Weeks, or literally, Seventy of Sevens (years) (ch. 9:24-27). 
The Jews had not only a week of seven days, but also a week of 
seven years, and seven of these year-weeks or forty-nine years 
led up to the Jubilee which was celebrated in the fiftieth year 
(Lev. 25:8-10). It is evident that Daniel’s Seventy of Sevens 
refer not to the day-week, but rather to the year-week because, 


62 IS THE KINGDOM AGE AT HAND? 


as the context shows, the prophet was inquiring concerning the 
number, not of the days, but of the years of the captivity (ch. 
9:2), and seventy of those year-weeks make a total of four 
hundred and ninety years. 


Abrahamic Covenant to Be seer ee in Four Hundred and 
Ninety Years | 


Within that period, four hundred and ninety years, the angel 
Gabriel informed the greatly beloved prophet that the chastise- 
ment of Daniel’s people would end. They were then to be 
established in age lasting righteousness, the prophecy concern- 
ing them would be finished, or sealed (Heb. Chatham), and the 
Most Holy One, David’s Royal Son the Messiah, would be 
anointed,—evidently as King. 


From the Decree to Build Jerusalem, to Rejection of Messiah 
Would Be Four Hundred and Exghty-three Years 


Further, God’s immediate messenger, Gabriel, declared, 
“From the going forth of the commandment to restore and to 
build Jerusalem unto the Messiah, the Prince, shall be seven 
of sevens (forty-nine years), and three score and two seven of 
sevens (four hundred and thirty-four years). This only ac- 
counts for sixty-nine of the seventy year-weeks, a period of 
four hundred and eighty-three years. Thus one, the last year- 
week, or seven years, is still to be accounted for. However, 
regarding the seven of sevens, or forty-nine years, the angel 
explains, “The street (of Jerusalem) shall be built again, and 
the wall even in troublous times.” Thus forty-nine years are 
here allowed in which to restore and to build Jerusalem. As to 
the remaining sevens included in the reckoning the angel de- 
clared, “After the three score and two seven of sevens shall 
Messiah be cut off, but not for himself,” or literally, “and 
nothing for Him.” In other words, four hundred and thirty- 
four years after Jerusalem had been rebuilt, or four hundred 
and eighty-three years after the decree to build Jerusalem, it 
was predicted that the Jewish Messiah. Christ our Lord, would 


THE TIME ELEMENT IN PROPHECY 63 


be cut off and there would be nothing for Him: that is, He 
would be wholly rejected. 


Only One Decree to Build Jerusalem 

There were three decrees with reference to the house of the 
Lord God of Israel: (1) that of Cyrus who decreed the restora- 
tion of the house, (2) that of Darius who confirmed the decree 
of Cyrus, and (3) that of Artaxerxes who decreed, in his sev- 
enth year, the restoration of the worship and the embellishment 
of the house of God. Not one of those decrees directed or per- 
mitted the rebuilding of the city. But in the twentieth year 
of Artaxerxes that monarch decreed the rebuilding of Jeru- 
salem (Neh. 2:1-8), and as near as the date can be fixed that 
decree went forth about B. C. 444 (Hales, Jahn). As generally 
understood also, Christ was crucified A. D. 33. Thus in 477 
(444 plus 33) years after the decree to restore Jerusalem 
Messiah was crucified. Then, after his resurrection and ascen- 
sion, the Jewish nation, which Peter charged with having killed 
the Messiah through ignorance (Acts 3: 15-17), was given every 
opportunity for several years to repent of its sin. Many Jews 
did repent and accepted Christ, but the nation persisted in its 
rejection of Him and made it plainly evident that the final 
decision of the nation would be, even as Jesus had predicted 
in His parable (Lk. 19:14), “We will not have this man to 
reign over us.” That decision showed conclusively that, in so 
far as it was in the power of that nation to cut Him off and 
to deprive Him of His own, Messiah should have nothing of 
what was rightly His. Thus the time of opportunity given fo 
that nation to repent, after they had killed the Prince of Life, 
will easily account for the remaining six of the four hundred 
and eighty-three (477 plus 6) years. In fact there need not 
be any doubt that, if the chronologist were only able to deter- 
mine and to establish the correct date for the twentieth year 
of Artaxerxes, and the date also when the Jews as a nation 
finally decided to wholly reject the claims of Christ as their 
Messiah, and to withhold from Him all recognition, honor, and 
even respect, the intervening time would be found to be exactly 
four hundred and eighty-three years to the very day even as 
the Angel Gabriel’ informed the prophet that it would be. 


G4 IS THE KINGDOM AGE AT HAND? 


Abrahamic Covenant Suspended 


Having therefore persisted in the refusal to repent of their 
great wickedness, and having invited the curse of the blood of 
Christ to be on them and on their children, the representatives 
of Jewry were taken at their word. God’s covenant with that 
nation was then suspended, and the people were delivered into 
the hands of their enemies. As Paul said to that people, “It was 
necessary that the word of God should first have been spoken 
to you; but seeing ye put it “from you, and judge yourselves un- 
worthy of age-lasting life, lo, we turn to the Connie (Acts 
13:46). 

Thus covenant or prophetic time ceased to register. The 
God in Whose eyes a thousand years are but as yesterday when 
it is passed, or as a watch in the night, has ever since ignored 
the flight of time and will so continue to do until He begins 
to deal again with Israel in their own land under the Abrahamic 
Covenant. When that time comes then the last one of the 
Seventy of Sevens, or the remaining seven years required to 
complete the four hundred and ninety years of Daniel’s proph- 
ecy, will begin to be reckoned ; and then all the prophecies con- 
cerning Israel and Judah will hasten to their speedy consum- 
mation. That will be at “the time of the end,” or “the end 
of the years,” or “the latter days,” so frequently mentioned by 
the prophets to indicate that all intervening time is disregarded. 
The last seven years of Jewish history during this age will 
probably date from the appearing of Antichrist, the coming 
world emperor, on the stage of Gentile history. And it is to 
that time that the remaining part of Daniel’s prophecy, with a 
single exception, looks forward. 


People of the Prince to Destroy the City 


The angel informs Daniel, “The people of the prince that 
shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary,” It is not 
the prince who shall destroy the city, but the people of the com- 
ing prince,—they shall destroy the city, etc. This prediction 
was fulfilled in A.D. 70 by Titus and the Roman army, and 
that is the only event of history that has occurred, during all 
the centuries that have passed since the suspension of the 


THE TIME ELEMENT IN PROPHECY 65 


Abrahamic Covenant, of which any notice is taken in this or in 
any other prophecy of the Bible. Time is absolutely ignored 
and will continue to be ignored in prophecy until the last seven 
years under the Abrahamic Covenant begin to be fulfilled, and 
then also “the coming prince,’ the Antichrist, will make his 
appearance. 


The Covenant Between Israel and Antichrist 


The remaining part of this prophecy therefore is unfulfilled. 
It awaits the future for its fulfilment and it records the conduct 
and final chastisement of the nation of Israel in the last seven 
years of its history, during this present age, under the reign of 
the Antichrist. It declares, “And the end thereof, etc.’ What 
end? Obviously, the end of the four hundred and ninety years 
of Jewish history under the Abrahamic Covenant of which end- 
time there still remain seven years to completion. That end, 
“shall be with a flood (for all earth dwellers), and unto the 
end of the war (for the crown rights and royal prerogatives of 
Messiah), desolations (divine judgments followed by the great 
tribulation and the Day of the Lord) are determined. And he 
(the Antichrist, the prince that shall come, whose people de- 
stroyed Jerusalem in A. D. 70) shall make a firm covenant with 
many (of Daniel’s people)” (Isa. 28:15-23; John 5:43), for 
one of the sevens, or seven years; and in the midst of the sevens 
(seven years), or after three and a half years, he (the Anti- 
christ, the abomination of desolations (Matt. 24:15), shall cause 
the sacrifice and the oblation to cease (Israel will have returned 
at that time to their own land in their unbelief, and will have 
restored their ancient worship); and upon the wings (the 
authority) of abomination shall one come (an officer of the 
Antichrist) that maketh desolate: and even unto the full end, 
and that determined, shall wrath be poured out upon the 
desolate (the Jews), or the desolator (the Antichrist). 


God’s Time Method Used by Isaiah 


This ignoring of time while the covenant with Israel is sus- 
pended finds illustration in many of the prophecies, notably 
Isaiah, 61st chapter of which Jesus, in the synagogue at Naza- 


66 IS THE KINGDOM AGE AT HAND? 


reth (Lk. 4: 16-21}, suspended the reading at a comma in the 
middle of verse 2nd, and having read only that much, “He 
closed the book, saying, This day is this Scripture fulfilled in 
your ears.” What explanation is there for this? The reason is 
that the First Advent brought in the acceptable year of the 
Lord. Jesus proclaimed it as present then, but that acceptable 
year ended for the Jewish nation when their covenant was 
suspended. In what follows the prophet Isaiah ignores the 
intervening time and so announces, The day of vengeance, that 
is even yet future and that will immediately precede the Second 
Advent, and also the blessings and comforts for Israel that will 
only be theirs in the Kingdom age. 

The failure to recognize and to apply this rule has resulted 
in false and often absurd interpretations of many Scriptures, 
especially the prophecies, which are frequently explained by the 
so-called method of “spiritual interpretation,’—a method that 
merely substitutes human theories for divine truth thus making 
void the Word of God, leading to confusion of thought and 
the contradiction of much truth really taught in the Scriptures 
for our learning. 


In the Old Testament All Events Are Dated 


While in predicting events such as were related to Israel’s 
history “in the latter days,” the Old Testament prophets en- 
tirely disregarded the time element during all the interim be- 
tween the First and Second Advents, because it was lost time 
to Israel under their covenant; on the other hand the Old 
Testament historians were very careful to record the date of 
each event with comparatively few exceptions. And the excep- 
tions, when the events were not dated, follow the account of 
some great sin which had displeased God and had called forth 
divine judgments. Hence it is probable that God’s covenant 
with those thus guilty had been likewise suspended. Read for 
example just before the Flood, Gen. 5:32; 6:6-10; also after 
the building of Babel, Gen. 11:26, 27. Then note the contrast 
with Gen. 5:4-31; 11:1-25. In the former Scriptures the time 
element is ignored, while in the latter it is carefully noted. By 
allowing for such lost time in the calculation, a biblical chro- 
nology can be supplied that will be in agreement with the com- 


THE TIME ELEMENT IN PROPHECY 67 


paratively few verified dates furnished by secular historians and 
chronologists. 


God’s Cycles Seventy Times Seven, Times Four 

Further, the biblical chronology thus supplied suggests at 
least that God is working out His plans for the redemption of 
the race, and for the establishment of His Kingdom on the 
earth, according to ordered and definite cycles of time, each 
of which cycles is the product of seventy times seven (the sacred 
number for perfection), times four (the earth number), or 
a total of nineteen hundred and sixty years of covenant time 
for each cycle. 

In the first cycle God’s plan included the world or the 
entire race of mankind. In the second cycle His plan included 
only the seed of Abraham; and in the third and last cycle before 
the Kingdom age. God’s plan includes the Church, the Body 
of Christ, into which is to be brought the fulness of the Gen- 
tiles, Rom. 11:25, who are fellow heirs with the Jews (Eph. 
3:6), but in which neither Jew nor Gentile as such has any 
recognition, but Christ is to be all and in all (Col. 3:11). 
Thus from Adam to Abram there were nineteen hundred and 
sixty years of covenant time. From Abram to the birth of 
Christ there were also nineteen hundred and sixty years of 
covenant time. And from the birth of Christ to the Kingdom 
age there would be a like number of years of covenant time. 
Allowing for lost time these cycles will cover about six thou- 
sand years of solar time, and the thousand years of the Kingdom 
age will make seven thousand years and so complete the dispen- 
sation of God’s dealings with the human family as sinners, or 
as a fallen race. 


The Seals of the Three Great Covenants 

Each of these cycles represents also a covenant which has 
been sealed, thus indicating that it was to be called forth as 
evidence only at a time in the distant future (Jer. 32:14; Dan. 
12:9, Rev. 5:1). The first cycle represents the world covenant 
made originally with Adam after his fall, and later merged into 
the Rainbow Covenant established with Noah and his seed to- 
gether with all living creatures; and the bow in the cloud is the 


68 IS THE KINGDOM AGE AT HAND? 


seal of that Covenant. The second was the Abrahamic Cove- 
nant which was later supplemented by the Sinaitic and the 
Davidic Covenants; and of this Covenant circumcision in the 
flesh is the seal. Then the third cycle represents the New 
Covenant in Christ’s blood of which baptism is the seal. All the 
blessings provided were conditioned, in the first two covenants, 
on obedience to the will of God and the due observance of the 
requirements of the Altar at which must be learned the neces- 
sity of sin being atoned for by the shedding of blood. Hence 
they were both covenants of works. All the blessings promised 
in the New Covenant in Christ’s blood depend merely on faith 
in Christ, on His perfect obedience, and on His death as the 
sinner’s Substitute. .In all respects, therefore, it is a covenant 
of grace. Under the first covenant the Gentile nations, or the 
unregenerate world, will be judged; under the second covenant 
will be judged the natural seed of Abraham, the whole house of 
Israel, and under the third covenant, the Visible Church of 
Christ will be judged. 


These Covenants Are Given Prominence in the Bible 


The Bible, never for a moment, loses sight of these three cov- 
enants, nor of the different groups of persons who, under the 
several covenants, are accountable to God. In the seven epistles 
of the Book of the Revelation, the judgment of the Visible 
Church, under the New Covenant in Christ’s blood, is going on 
during this present evil age, and the distinction between the true 
disciple and the mere professor is shown in those epistles. In 
connection with the opening of the first four seals attention 
is directed to Gentile nations that are being judged today under 
the Rainbow Covenant, and it is easy to understand why their 
conduct will bring divine judgments, such as are described 
under the first six bowls of God’s wrath, upon the world; 
and in connection with the opening of the next two seals and 
the sounding of the first six trumpets there are predicted the 
judgments that will be visited upon unbelieving Israel who are 
to be judged under the Abrahamic Covenant. Then the final 
judgment during this present evil age of all covenant-breakers, 
both mere Christian professors and avowed infidels, both Jew 
and Gentile, will be completed with the opening of the seventh 


THE TIME ELEMENT IN PROPHECY 69 


seal, the sounding of the seventh trumpet, and the pouring out 
of the seventh bowl. The seven bowl judgments are the last 
plagues; for in them is filled up the wrath of God (Rev. 15:1). 
To this extent, and directing to such conclusions is the import- 
ance of the time element that is given such great prominence 
in the Old Testament. 


The New Testament a Dateless Book 


In very marked contrast with the care shown by Old Testa- 
ment historians to fix and record the date of each event, the 
New Testament appears as a practically dateless book even as 
regards the most important historic facts. If we would inquire 
concerning the time of Christ’s birth, or of other important 
events connected with His life and ministry on earth; or if we 
would learn the exact time even of His crucifixion, or resurrec- 
tion, or ascension, the Bible affords but little help. If we desire 
to know just when the New Testament Church was substituted 
in the plan of God for the Kingdom that had been promised as 
“nigh at hand” (Lk. 21:31), even in the days of Christ's 
earthly ministry ; or if we would know when the twelve apostles 
were first chosen and sent forth on their mission, or when 
Paul was converted and called to the apostleship, and the date 
from which to reckon his several missionary journeys and the 
time required for him to complete each; if we would ascertain 
the year in which any of the apostles died, or how long they 
lived to serve the Church, or when the four Gospels or the 
several epistles were written, and other not less interesting and 
important facts, we at once discover that the time element has 
been practically ignored in the New Testament, and that the 
few details supplied on any subject in Scripture afford nothing 
more than a mere hint regarding the date of these several 
events. 

And when we turn to other than biblical sources for the 
desired information it is found that we have entered a field 
only of speculation and controversy, because there are absolutely 
no verified dates on any of these historic events that authorities 
can furnish, and there is, therefore much disagreement regard- 
ing even probable dates. From this fact, the most reasonable 
conclusion to be drawn is that by giving Bible students a date- 


70 IS THE KINGDOM AGE AT HAND? 


less New Testament God has purposed to emphasize the truth 
that He takes no account of time while His covenant with 
Israel is suspended. 


The Secret of the Lord Is with Them that Fear Him 


Thus God enables those who fear Him, by further search 
and inquiry under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, to discover 
the secret (Ps. 25:14), and to apply it for the better under- 
standing of the “sure word of prophecy” as it stands related to 
His covenant with faithful Abraham (Jer. 33:23-26). For 
many years Christian scholars, whose names are household 
words in multitudes of homes, have possessed and applied this 
rule in explaining the Scriptures; they have called attention to 
it in their books also and in addresses delivered from the public 
platform. Hence it is not some new fad, nor a mere unsup-. 
ported theory of a few extremists to which it is necessary to 
give but little heed. Rather it is a necessary rule for the correct 
interpretation and understanding of prophecy. It is a rule that 
is admitted and indorsed by men of recognized scholarship in 
the Church,—men who are peers of any gospel minister, Christ- 
ian leaders who are well reputed as able and sound expositors 
of the Word of God, and it is the utter disregard of this rule 
that has made prophecy a sealed book today to the larger part 
of the lay members of the Church and even to the ministers and 
professors in pulpits and in Christian colleges and seminaries. 

This rule must be applied by all those who desire an under- 
standing of the prophecies of Daniel and of the Book of the 
Revelation. And the meaning of many other prophecies of 
the Scriptures lies hidden also until the intelligent application 
of this important rule clears up most of the difficulties and 
makes it possible to read these portions of the Bible understand- 
ingly and with profit. 


CHAPTER VI 
KINGDOM LIGHT IN THE DARKNESS 


The Present Great Crisis 


Amidst such social, religion, political, national and interna- 
tional conditions as prevail today throughout the world, all 
thoughtful persons realize that a crisis is drawing near. Some 
do not hesitate to declare that a remedy for present condi- 
tions must be found and applied quickly or civilization is 
doomed to perish before the rising spirit of anarchy which 
defies law, despises authority, casts aside all restraints, tramples 
under foot the most revered customs of society and venerated 
institutions and like a mighty flood threatens to overwhelm 
and to destroy everything in its pathway. 

Remedies for present conditions have been suggested by 
many in the past; others are still being advocated, and some 
are now being tried, but any change for the better is not to 
be discerned except by a few blind optimists. Many have 
become greatly discouraged, and alarm is spreading among 
intelligent people everywhere. What can be done? What does 
the present state of the world and of society in general permit 
one to hope for tomorrow? Such questions are being asked, 
and for the greater part the answers given to them are mere 
guesswork and unsatisfying. The final answer must rest upon 
the sure foundation of the Word of God to Whom the end 
is known from the beginning, Who has in His Word forewarned 
of the very conditions that now prevail, and Who has predicted 
the outcome for the understanding and comfort of all who 
believe and who put their trust in Him. 


The Mystery of the Kingdom 
In turning to the Bible for light in the darkness and for the 
explanation and solution of present day problems, it is well to 
71 


72 IS THE KINGDOM AGE AT HAND? 


begin with the revelation Jesus Himself gave to His true 
friends and followers. It will be remembered, how to the 
great multitudes that gathered together to hear him, Jesus spake 
to them many things in parables, and for the greater part these 
parables contained the truth that Jesus taught concerning His 
Kingdom. When asked by His disciples why He spake unto 
the multitudes in parables? He said, “Unto you it is given to 
know the mysteries of the Kingdom of heaven, but to them 
it is not given” (Matt. 13:11). And why was the privilege 
of understanding this truth not given to the multitudes? Sim- 
ply because, their heart was waxed gross, their ears were dull of 
hearing, their eyes they had closed, because they had deliberately 
chosen not to perceive, or to hear, or to understand lest they 
should be turned to Christ and He should heal them (Matt. 
13:12-15). As free moral agents the multitudes were at liberty 
to make their own choice; and they alone were responsible for 
the results. That same principle holds true today, and it is 
the best explanation of why the vast multitudes of earth’s 
inhabitants are still groping in darkness. They have but little 
if any understanding of what God hath revealed for our learn- 
ing because they have chosen not to know; they have decided 
that they have no interest in these things and they will not 
spare the time from their business and pleasures to consider 
them. 


Jesus Explains the Mysteries 


But Jesus desired that His true friends should understand 
His teachings. So in private He explained two of His parables 
to His disciples, and thus laid down the principles for their 
interpretation so that all who truly desired to learn of Him 
might know the truth. Read then the interpretation Jesus has 
given of the parable of the Sower and decide for yourselves to 
which class you belong of those who are privileged to hear the 
word of the Kingdom. 


Several Classes of Hearers 


Are you a wayside hearer, or one who has no understanding 
of Kingdom truth, to whom the Evil one cometh and snatcheth 


KINGDOM LIGHT IN THE DARKNESS 73 


away that which has been sown in his heart? Are you a rocky 
ground hearer who at first receives the message with joy, but 
being without faith, which is the root of all revealed truth, 
will choose to abandon the teaching of Jesus Christ rather than 
to endure even ridicule and much less tribulation or persecu- 
tion because of the truth? Are you a thorny ground hearer, 
or one who is far more concerned about the care of his body 
than about the salvation of his soul, and who is more inter- 
ested in what he shall eat, drink and wear in this present time 
than in what he is in character and in what are his future 
possibilities? If you belong to any of these classes of hearers 
then be on your guard, or the cares of this present age and the 
deceitfulness of riches, like rank weeds, will spring up in your 
heart to choke the word of divine truth and cause you to become 
unfruitful. Are you a good ground hearer or one who receives 
the word of the Kingdom and understands it and believes it, 
and who verily beareth fruit and bringeth forth, some an hun- 
dredfold, some sixty, some thirty (Matt. 13:19-23)? If so 
then thank God Who has hid these things from the wise and 
prudent and hast revealed the precious truth unto mere babes 
(Matt. 11:25). To which class of hearers do you belong, or do 
you choose to belong? Answer that question to yourself truth- 
fully and you can decide right here and now whether the study 
of God’s Word will enable you to walk in the light of revealed 
truth or leave you with the multitude to stumble along in the 
darkness of error, ignorance, and superstition. 


Farnest Seekers After Truth Will Find It 


If willing to learn the truth concerning the Kingdom, and if 
you really desire to become a fruitful hearer, then consider 
carefully and attentively the explanation given by the Great 
Teacher Himself, even our Lord Jesus Christ, of His parable 
in which He likened the Kingdom of heaven unto a man that 
sowed good seed in his field (Matt. 13:24-30, 36-43). Jesus 
explained that the field, to which He likened the Kingdom of 
heaven, was the world, the cosmos, or this material and habitable 
earth on which man today lives, moves and has his being. And 
since the field is the earth, or habitable world, the Kingdom 
certainly is not the Church of which the members are said to be 


74 IS THE KINGDOM AGE AT HAND? 


“heirs of the Kingdom” (Jas. 2:5). There is certainly a dif- 
ference to be made between an inheritor and an inheritance if 
words mean anything intelligible. And if we desire to under- 
stand Christ’s teachings on the subject of His Kingdom, we 
must learn to read His word intelligently and thoughtfully so 
that we will distinguish between things that are entirely different 
such as the Kingdom and the Church. It was the Kingdom, 
and not the Church, which Jesus likened unto the field that He 
explained was the world, or this material earth. Further, He 
declared that He Himself was the Man who sowed the good 
seed in His field; and that the good seed represented His sons, 
or His children, who constitute the Church and who become, not 
the Kingdom, but rather the heirs of the Kingdom (Lk. 12:32; 
Rom. 8:17). The tares are not the sons of God, but rather 
they are the children of the Evil one; and the enemy that sowed 
them in the field is the Devil. Now if we understand the teach- 
ings of Jesus thus far and are willing to accept them as the 
truth, then we will believe in a personal spirit of evil who is that 
old serpent the Devil. Then further, we will know and believe 
that the Devil has his children living here on earth, and that they 
are no more the children of God than the tares are the good 
seed, or than the Devil is the Son of Man. 


Blind Leaders of the Blind 


It should not be necessary to emphasize such self-evident 
truth, but unfortunately it is necessary for there are many 
today, in fact multitudes even among the ministers of the 
gospel, who read the Bible unthinkingly, who use its teachings 
unintelligently, who preach their own theories rather than the 
truth of God’s Word, and who, therefore, loudly proclaim that 
all men are the children of the Heavenly Father,—even those 
whom Christ describes as the children of the Devil. And such 
preaching, which on the one hand will please that old deceiver 
the Devil, and on the other hand greatly grieve the Holy 
Spirit, is quite acceptable, and in general agreeable to the un- 
derstanding of a great multitude of professed Christians today 
concerning what is taught in the Word of God. Verily, if the 
light that is in such preachers be darkness, how great is that 
darkness ! 


KINGDOM LIGHT IN THE DARKNESS 15 


Wheat and Tares to Mingle Until the End of the Age 


However, Jesus teaches that in His field, or world Kingdom, 
there are to be found, for the present, both God’s children and 
also the children of the Devil. And He reveals that it is 
His will that both the sons of the Kingdom and the sons of 
the evil one shall continue to dwell on the earth until the time 
of the harvest. He explains the harvest to mean the end of 
the age, and not the end of the world (see margin or footnote 
in the Revised version of the Bible). At that time,—the end 
of this present evil age (Gal. 1:4), Jesus will send forth the 
reapers (His angels), and they will gather out the tares to- 
gether with all things that offend and burn them with fire. 
Then also the righteous, or the true Church of Christ, will be 
manifested (Rom. 8:19; 1 John 2:19), and will shine forth 
as the sun in the Kingdom of their Father. Here then is the 
explanation given by Jesus Himself of this parable. His inter- 
pretation is so plain that even the way faring man, and much 
more the scholar, need not miss the meaning, nor be deceived 
regarding the same if he loves the truth of God more than he 


loves some theory of man. 


The Understanding of Kingdom Truth Is the Key that Unlocks 
the Scriptures 

Jesus was very anxious that His friends should understand 
His teachings concerning Kingdom truths. He therefore in- 
quired of them, Have ye understood all these things? And 
when they declared they did understand, Jesus replied, 
“Therefore, every scribe, or teacher, who is instructed unto 
the Kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an house- 
holder, who bringeth forth out of his treasures things new and 
old” (Matt. 13:51, 52). That certainly can mean nothing less 
than that the understanding of Kingdom truth is the KEY 
to the understanding of the Scriptures. He therefore who 
understands this teaching of Jesus Christ concerning His 
Kingdom, will be able to bring forth, out of the treasures of 
truth contained in God’s Word, things both new and old. The 
Spirit of God will not lead any one into all truth who resists 
Him and refuses to be led into the knowledge and understand- 


76 IS THE KINGDOM AGE AT HAND? 


ing of the truth concerning the Kingdom as it has been revealed 
in the Bible for our learning by Jesus Himself. 


Jesus to Reign as King on the Earth 

Let it be kept in mind that in this parable Jesus is teaching 
about the Kingdom of heaven and not about the Church. He 
likens the Kingdom not unto the Church but unto a field,—His 
field, and He explains that the field is the world, or this material, 
habitable earth. This world*belongs to Him; it is the territory 
of His dominion over which and on which Jesus is to reign as 
King of kings and Lord of lords, and it will be on this earth 
that every knee shall bow to Him, and every tongue shali confess: 
that Jesus is Lord, or King, to the glory of God the Father. 


The Old and New Testament Revelation in Agreement 

Such knowledge and understanding of the Kingdom agrees 
with what is everywhere taught in the Bible on this subject. 
Read the promise of God the Father, given to His Only Begotten 
Son, as recorded in the 2nd Psalm, “Ask of Me, and I will give 
Thee the nations for Thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts 
of the earth for Thy possession.” This also is the only under- 
standing of the Kingdom that harmonizes with Jewish expecta- 
tion with regard to their Messiah,—an expectation that was fully 
justified as may be learned from the entire Old Testament, and 
especially from the 72nd Psalm the teaching of which has been 
summed up in the familiar lines: 


“Christ shall have dominion 
Over land and sea; 
Earth’s remotest regions 
Shall His empire be.” 


Jesus never once corrected the Jews for holding the belief that 
their Messiah was to be a King Who would reign in an earthly 
Kingdom. He did chide them for not believing ALL that their 
prophets had spoken, namely, that He must first suffer and 
enter into His glory before He could come in His glory to 
fulfil their expectation. Some care but little for Old Testa- 
ment teaching, but none-the-less it is the Word of God, and 
it agrees perfectly with what is revealed in the New Testament 


KINGDOM LIGHT IN THE DARKNESS v7 


on the subject of the Kingdom. Read the prediction made by 
the angel Gabriel to the Mother of Jesus just before His birth 
when He was laid in the lowly manger of Bethlehem. The 
angel declared, “That Holy thing that shall be born of thee shall 
be called the Son of the Highest, and the Lord God shall give 
unto Him the throne of His father David, and He shall reign 
over the house of Jacob,” or over the unbelieving and rebellious 
Israelites (Lk. 1:32). Then run down the page of prophecy 
until the time when this prediction will be declared fulfilled, 
and hear the great voices in heaven proclaiming, “The kingdoms 
of this world, this habitable earth, are become the Kingdom of 
our Lord and of His Anointed one (the true Church), and He 
shall reign for ever and ever” (Rev. 11:15). 


Born to Be a King 


When Pilate asked Jesus the direct question, Art Thou then 
a King? Jesus explained that He was not to receive His 
Kingdom from the world, or as the gift of men, but He never- 
theless declared boldly, “I am a King; for this end was I born 
and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear 
witness unto the (this) truth’ (John 18:37). And it was 
because of this very testimony that Pilate prepared the inscrip- 
tion for the Cross in Greek, and Latin, and Hebrew, “Jesus 
of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.” 


Jesus Offered His Kingdom by Satan 


Although many of Christ’s friends today fail to understand 
that His Kingdom is to be set up on this earth, the Devil ac 
least did not misunderstand the nature of the Kingdom nor 
the fact that it was to be established on this earth over which, 
for the present, Satan reigns as prince (John 14: 30), and is 
worshiped by multitudes as the god of the age (2 Cor. 4:4). 
Hence it is recorded the Devil took Jesus into a high mountain 
and showed unto Him all the kingdoms of the earth; and we 
learn how Satan tempted Christ saying, “All this power will I 
give Thee, and the glory of them for that is delivered unto 
me; and to whomsoever I will I give it.” 

One can easily imagine the Devil saying to Jesus, “You are 


78 IS THE KINGDOM AGE AT HAND? 


a King; you have come into this world to possess yourself of 
all these kingdoms with their glory, honor and riches. Now 
you do not need to live here on this earth in humility, hoping 
and waiting for some future time when you will get possession 
of the earth and reign over it. You do not have to pass through 
Gethsemane submitting to its anguish and bloody sweat; and 
much less is it necessary that you should endure Calvary with 
all its shame, suffering and cruel death. All that is entirely 
unnecessary. If Thou wilt but worship me, ALL shall be 
Thine” (Lk. 4:5-7). Jesus rejected the gift on those terms; 
He chose to wait, at any and every cost, until it was the 
Father’s good pleasure to give Him possession of the earth unto 
its utmost bounds. Such then is the Kingdom for the coming 
of which Jesus taught His disciples to pray, “Thy Kingdom 
come ; Thy will be done on earth even as in heaven.” : 


Walking by Faith, Not by Sight 

Will the Lord’s prayer be answered agreeable to the desire 
of the suppliants? Every true Christian believes it will be 
so answered, and hence they continue to pray in faith nothing 
doubting. Some however are looking for signs of the coming 
Kingdom. They see evil that is all around them in the world 
and even in the Church, but very little to even suggest that the 
Kingdom is coming. They ask therefore, “Who will show 
us any good?” They grow weary with waiting. Some yield to 
discouragement and become scoffers, saying, “Where is the 
promise of His coming? for since the fathers feil asleep all 
things continue as they were.” 

Others today close their eyes to the evil and magnify the 
good which they profess to discover. They think they see 
signs to indicate the coming of the Kingdom in the heart, in 
the home, in the Church, in the community, in the nation, and 
in the world. And as the best means for keeping hope alive 
they seek to persuade and encourage others also to see things 
so that they also may walk by sight rather than by faith. 

But believing the teachings of Jesus there are Christians 
who are not looking for signs. They know the Kingdom will 
not come with observation, or in other words, it will not come 
gradually, or by degrees, so that its coming can be discerned, 


KINGDOM LIGHT IN THE DARKNESS 79 


for Jesus has so declared (Lk. 17:20-24). No, the Kingdom 
is coming with the suddenness of lightning that in a moment 
sweeps from one end of heaven to the other. As in the days 
of Noah, or as in the days of Lot, the Gentile nations will con- 
tinue as today to eat, drink, buy, sell, plant, build, to marry 
wives and to be given in marriage, without a single thought of 
anything more important than themselves, their possessions, 
their pleasures, and thus it will be down to the very moment for 
the setting up on this earth of God’s Kingdom. Then there will 
come terrible divine judgments, and after these things the 
Kingdom will be established. 


God’s Controversy with the Nations to Be Settled 


The divine judgments that are predicted to smite the image 
of Nebuchadnezzar and to destroy all earthly rule and empire 
must come before the setting up of God’s Kingdom, and these 
judgments will come suddenly and without warning upon 
earth’s inhabitants. These judgments will be God’s “strange 
work, and His strange act” (Isa. 28:21, 22). Asa result, this 
earth will be wasted and made desolate with fires and storms 
such as have never before been witnessed by men. And on 
the utter ruin of world empire that will perish under the wrath 
of a just and righteous God, the Kingdom of God’s dear Son 
will be set up and established. 


“Our God shall surely come; 

Keep silence shall not He; 

Before Him fires shall waste, 

Great storms shall round about him be 
Before He comes; 

To judge the world comes He” (Ps. 50: 3-6). 


God has a controversy with the nations of this earth, because 
they have forgotten the God Who has made and preserved them 
as nations; they have also rejected His Son, saying, “We will 
not have this man to reign over us”; they are trampling under 
their feet, at their own pleasure, the righteous will of God 
whenever it conflicts with their wills, and they refuse to submit 
to God’s authority (Jer. 25:31). 


80 IS THE KINGDOM AGE AT HAND? 


The Day of the Lord, or Lord’s Day 


That controversy will be settled finally in “the Day of the 
Lord,” or in “the day of the vengeance of our God.” It is not 
pleasant to think about that great and terrible Day, but it may 
be profitable to some who are neglecting today their opportunity 
to make their peace with God. “Men are but children of a 
larger growth,” and as the rod of correction is appointed for 
the wilful child, so divine judgments are appointed for wicked 
and impenitent men and women and nations. These terrible 
judgments that are coming on the earth are to be sent forth 
by God for the salvation of multitudes who have hardened their 
hearts against the gospel message. Hence in His great mercy 
God purposes to reach and to save them by other means. And 
He will not fail; for “when God’s judgments are abroad in the 
earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness” 
(Isa. 26:9). Favors shown to the wicked only incline them 
to further harden their hearts, as did Pharaoh, but divine judg- 
ments will bring them to their knees with a cry for mercy and 
pardon. 


The Terror of the Day of the Lord 


Hence “the Day of the Lord” is coming when “the wicked 
and ungodly shall go into the holes of the rocks, and into the 
caves of the earth, for fear of the Lord, and for the glory of 
His majesty, when He ariseth to shake terribly the earth” (Isa. 
2:12-22). The old prophets predicted the coming of the Day 
of the Lord, and they uniformly declare that it will be “a day 
of vengeance and recompense” (Isa. 34:8), “of darkness and 
gloominess” (Joel 2:1-11), “of mourning and lamentation” 
(Amos 8:9, 10), “of trouble and distress,” “of wasteness and 
desolation” (Zeph. 1:14-18), “of earthquake and fire” (Zech. 
14:1-7), “of fire and burning” (Mal. 4:1-6). The apostles 
mention it as “a day of wrath and revelation of the righteous 
judgments of God” (Rom. 2:5), “of weeping and howling” 
(Jas. 5:1-8), and, more than any other inspired writer, the 
beloved disciple, the apostle of love, furnishes a detailed descrip- 
tion of that Day of divine wrath in the Book of the Revelation. 
Even Jesus Himself warns of that time as “the days of ven- 


KINGDOM LIGHT IN THE DARKNESS 81 


geance when all things that are written shall be fulfilled,” and 
when “men’s hearts shall fail them for fear, and for looking 
after those things that are coming on the earth: for the powers 
of heaven shall be shaken” (Lk. 21 :20-28; Matt. 24 :15-28; Mk. 
13 :14-26). 


That Day Has no Terror for the Godly 

But while that day will bring tribulation and anguish upon 
all the wicked and ungodly of earth it has no fear nor terror 
for the righteous, because not a hair of their heads shall perish. 
When these things begin to come to pass they are encouraged to 
look up, and to lift up their heads; for their redemption draweth 
HiphegLky 21 1S.119) 25). 


No Man Knoweth the Time 

It is known that only after these terrible judgments, with the 
coming of which this present evil age will end, that the Kingdom 
of God will be established. However it would be only guess- 
work to presume to predict the exact time when this present age 
will end and when the Kingdom age will begin, or when Gentile 
dominion over the earth shall cease, and when Christ shall take 
to Himself His great power and reign on the earth (Rev. 11:17; 
5:10). “Of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not 
the angels of heaven, but My Father only,” declared Jesus 
Christ (Matt. 24:26). That word should put an end to all 
speculation and guess-work. We cannot know either the day 
or the hour. But of one thing we can be certain, and that 1s, 
that right now we are living near the end of this present evil 
age, and that the dawn of the Kingdom age is not far off, but 
rather tt 1s even now at the very door. 


CHAPTER VII 
THE PROPHECY OF GENTILE DOMINION 


Knowledge of the Future Rests on the Sure Word of Prophecy 


The justification for the assurance that the end of this age 
draws very near rests on two prophecies of Scripture, one in 
the Old Testament and the other in the New. And it can be 
easily shown that both of these prophecies are nearing complete 
fulfilment. There is then first, The prophecy that declares the 
beginning, and that predicts the ending of Gentile world power 
during this age. Let it be kept in mind that the present is 
declared in Scripture to be “The times of the Gentiles.” 


Attempts to Destroy Faith in Daniel's Predictions 

From the prophecy of Daniel we learn just when “the times 
of the Gentiles” began; also how these times will end, and fur- 
ther that the time of the end is not far distant. The modernists 
or liberal theologians, as they choose to style themselves, have 
tried by every means at their command to discredit the Book 
of Daniel. But in plain English, according to any Standard 
dictionary of the English language, the so-called modernists 
are infidels and destructive critics. They proclaim themselves 
Christians, while at the same time they are boring from within 
the church, and by every possible effort doing all in their power 
to weaken and to undermine faith in the Bible, in the deity of 
Jesus Christ, and in all other fundamental doctrines of the 
Christian religion. 

No book of the Bible has been more fiercely assailed nor 
more valiantly defended in recent times than has the Book of 
Daniel’s prophecies. The enemy declares that Daniel never 
wrote the book that bears his name and insists that it was 
written several centuries later than the traditional date of about 
600 B.C. This is a mere claim for which there is no proof 
to satisfy any unbiased mind. But it is not necessary at present 

82 


THE PROPHECY OF GENTILE DOMINION 83 


to interest ourselves in that controversy, because no one ques- 
tions that some time, long before the birth of Christ, and by 
some one living in Babylon and familiar with the life of that 
court, this book was written. That admission is sufficient for 
our present purpose. 


The Forgotten Dream of Nebuchadnezzar 

Even could the claim of infidelity be proved true, which it has 
not been and cannot be, still that would not get rid of the for- 
gotten dream of Nebuchadnezzar. According to the Bible this 
dream was recalled to the king’s remembrance by Daniel the 
prophet who then gave the interpretation of the dream, and pre- 
dicted the course of the Gentile world empire from its beginning 
in the days of Nebuchadnezzar, down to the very close of this 
age, when on the ruins of these world empires Daniel declared, 
“The God of heaven would set up His Kingdom which should 
never be destroyed” (Dan. 2:31-45). 


The Unreasonable Demand of the Babylonian Monarch 

Remember how the proud Babylonian monarch called together 
the wise men of his kingdom, and in the spirit of a despot 
required of them on the penalty of death if they failed, that 
they should tell him the dream that he had forgotten, and the 
interpretation thereof. Also that the wise men protested 
against the unreasonableness of any such demand and declared, 
“There is none other that can show it before the king, except 
the god whose dwelling is not with flesh.” Their reply greatly 
angered the King who commanded, forthwith, to destroy all 
the wise men of Babylon. 


God Revealed the Dream to Daniel 
Then, the record states, that God revealed the dream and its 
interpretation unto Daniel who at once stayed the execution of 
the wise men and appeased the wrath of the king by telling 
him his dream and the interpretation thereof. And this was 
the dream: 
“The king had seen and behold a great image appeared. 


This image, whose brightness was excellent, stood before 
him; and the form thereof was terrible. The head of 


84 IS THE KINGDOM AGE AT HAND? 


the image was of fine gold, his breast and his arms of 
silver, his belly and thighs of brass, his legs of iron, his 
feet part of iron and part of clay. Then the king saw 
a stone cut out without hands which smote the image upon 
his feet that were of iron and clay, and brake them to 
pieces. Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver 
and the gold broken to pieces together, and became like 
the chaff of the summer threshing floor; and the wind 
carried them away, that no place was found for them: 
and the stone that smote the image became a great moun- 
tain, and filled the whole earth” (Dan. 2: 31-35). 


That was the dream which Nebuchadnezzar had forgotten. 
And who other than the God to Whom the thought of all 
hearts is known could have revealed that secret unto Daniel? 


The Prophet Interprets the Dream 


Granted that some one might make up such a dream, and 
that the account of the dream having been recalled to the king 
after he had forgotten it, and other little details, might all be 
pure fiction. But our interest is wholly in the interpretation, 
the fulfilment of which precludes all possibility of mere human 
invention. 

It should not be forgotten that Nebuchadnezzar was king of 
Babylon more than 600 years before Christ was born, or over 
2500 years ago; and here is the interpretation of the dream as 
it was given to that monarch by the prophet. Daniel declared 
to the king, 


“The God of heaven had made him, Nebuchadnezzar, 
a king of kings, and had given him a kingdom, power, 
strength and glory. And wheresoever the children of 
men dwell, the beasts of the field, and the fowls of the 
heaven had God given into his hand, and had made him 
ruler over them all.” 


Then began the “times of the Gentiles’; for Daniel said to 
Nebuchadnezzar in telling him the meaning of the great image, 
“Thou art the head of gold” (Dan. 2:36-38). 

The prophet further predicted and described three other 
great world empires that would in turn succeed the empire of 
Babylon. And the fourth empire was to be as strong as iron; 


THE PROPHECY OF GENTILE DOMINION 85 


it was also to become a divided empire as represented by the 
two legs of the image. Further, as the feet and toes were 
part of potter’s clay and part of iron, Daniel predicted, “They 
shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with 
clay.” 

The prophet next called attention to the ten toes of the 
image. These represented ten ‘kingdoms which were to be 
partly strong and partly broken, and he declared, 


“In the days of those ten kings, the God of heaven 
shall set up a Kingdom which shall never be destroyed; 
and the Kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it 
shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and 
it shall stand for ever (Olam, The Age).” 


In conclusion Daniel said to the king, 


“For as much as thou sawest that the Stone was cut 
out of the mountain without hands, and that it break in 
pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver and the 
gold; the great God hath made known to the king what 
shall come to pass hereafter: and the dream is certain, 
and the interpretation thereof sure” (Dan. 2: 39-45). 


Is it possible for any student of history to read that interpreta- 
tion of the dream of Nebuchadnezzar without a feeling of 
wonder and amazement? Who can tell what shall be even on 
tomorrow, and much less can any man accurately outline the 
course of world history down through the centuries for more 
than 2500 years. Yet Daniel has done that very thing, but he 
was able so to do only because, as he declares, “The secret was 
revealed unto him in a night vision by the God of heaven.” 


The Predictions Have Been Fulfilled Literally Dowm to the Feet 
of the Great Image 


Of this and other prophecies of Scripture let the destructive 
critics and their imitators amuse themselves by inventing so- 
called “spiritual interpretation” that seek to make the Holy 
Spirit responsible for the fertile imaginations of men. But 
let those who believe what the prophets have spoken be content 
to open their histories, and try to discover any mistakes made 


86 IS THE KINGDOM AGE AT HAND? 


by Daniel in his forecast of twenty-five centuries of secular his- 
tory and world empire. Begin with the empire of Babylon. 
Read of its might and power and glory, but how nevertheless it 
was finally overthrown and supplanted by the Medo-Persian 
empire which represented the breast and arms of the great image 
even as the head of gold, in the person of Nebuchadnezzar, rep- 
resented the Babylonian empire. Then comes the Grecian em- 
pire to flourish for awhile; and we have Alexander the Great 
weeping because there were no more worlds for him to conquer. 
Finally, the empire of Rome appears, the great “iron empire,” 
as it is known in history, and under the Caesars it also brought 
the world under subjection to its scepter. Here therefore are 
the four great empires that beginning in the days of Nebuchad- 
nezzar have spread themselves over the earth and conquered it. 


Secular Historians Confirm the Fulfilment of This Prophecy 

Does the secular historian tell of any other world empires 
that arose besides these four? No, not a single one; and ac- 
cording to the symbolism of numbers used in the Bible the 
figure four stands for the number of the earth which is pictured 
as having four corners, north, south, east and west. Further, 
just as there is a deterioration in the fineness of the metals gold, 
silver, brass and iron, and a corresponding increase in strength, 
so the glory and magnificence of these four great empires gradu- 
ally diminished while, on the other hand, their mighty power 
to break in pieces and to subdue all things became greater until, 
in the Roman empire, we behold the mightiest of the four, just 
as Daniel predicted it would be. 

But we have not as yet come to the end of this marvelous 
prophecy as already it has been fulfilled. We are interested, 
therefore, to learn what more the secular historian has to tell 
us. So we read on and note that the fourth empire was divided, 
and became the Eastern and Western Roman empires corre- 
sponding to the two legs of the image; the former having its 
capital at Constantinople, and the latter having its capital at 
Rome. That also agrees perfectly with the predictions of 
Daniel, who further describes the feet of the image as being 
part of iron and part of clay; and as iron and clay will not hold 


THE PROPHECY OF GENTILE DOMINION 87 


together, so he predicted, a breaking up of this fourth empire 
into smaller kingdoms that would not cleave one to another. 


The Roman Empire Broken Up Into Small Nations Today 

And what is the present condition of the peoples who, in 
past centuries, constituted the one great Roman empire? The 
historian does not need to tell us the answer to that question 
for we know that now the empire is all divided into smaller 
kingdoms and states, each jealous of the other, and they are 
ready to war with each other on the slightest provocation. Italy, 
France, England, the Balkan states and Germany, were all parts 
of the Roman empire, and each of those states is seeking for 
self today all it can get without the least regard to the rights 
and interests of each other. For that reason it is impossible 
for them to agree on any policy, or even to form alliances that 
will hold for any length of time. England would like to crush 
the unspeakable Turk, but she fears France who finds it to her 
interests to stand in with that nation of cut-throats and mur- 
derers. France would like to break up Germany into small 
independent states, and thus get rid of the menace to her na- 
tional existence, but she fears England who is more greedy 
for the market that a great Germany can provide for English 
exports than she is for the peace of Europe. 


Each Would Welcome the Unsted States as Its Ally 


And all of these nations would gladly welcome the United 
States as an ally in the hope that they might be able to use our 
Government to pull their chestnuts out of the fires of interna- 
tional politics and strife. But the United States does not pro- 
pose to be led as a lamb to the slaughter. It is wise for this 
Government to keep out of such an unhappy, selfish and quar- 
relsome family of nations. Let these nations settle their own 
quarrels so that they can begin to help themselves by lawful 
and peaceful methods rather than by the power of their great 
war machines; then the United States can help them and 
will be glad to do so, but not let us hope until they are at peace 
among themselves. 

Such then is the condition of the feet of that image in which 
appears the iron of imperial rule and the clay of selfish policy 


88 IS THE KINGDOM AGE AT HAND? 


inspired by a fickle populace that is concerned with the welfare 
of none but its own. Is it not marvelous that Daniel, living 
away back yonder and standing in the court of Babylon 600 
years before the birth of our Lord, could so accurately describe 
the course of world empire, and the history of Gentile nations 
from his day right down to the present time? 


The Ten Toes, the Smiting, and the Kingdom, only Await 
Fulfilment 


Shall we deny, along with the wise men of the world today, 
that Daniel had the truth revealed to him by the One, Only 
living and true God Who alone knoweth the future, and Who 
only is able to declare and to make known what shall come to 
pass hereafter? God pity all who are so ignorant and blind and 
foolish as to call in question Daniel’s inspired predictions! 
Time has now carried us from the crown of that head of gold 
to the very feet of that great image which are part of iron 
and part of clay, and thus far the predictions have been fulfilled 
most accurately and literally. 


Part of the Prophecy as Yet Unfulfilled 


But Daniel’s prophecy still reaches into the future. He 
declares (1) that the many small kingdoms and states that 
today represent the feet of that image are finally to became 
just ten kingdoms so as to form the ten toes of the image. 
Then (2) that in the days of those ten kings the God of 
heaven will smite that image and He will break in pieces the 
‘iron, the brass, the clay, the silver and the gold which shall 
become like the chaff of the summer threshing floors, and the 
wind (divine judgments) shall carry them away. And finally 
(3) that on the ruins of these world empires God will set 
up and establish His Kingdom which shall never be destroyed. 

Shall we doubt the accuracy and the truth of these remaining 
predictions that have yet to be fulfilled to complete the proph- 
ecy? Not unless we are like the Jews of Christ’s day on 
earth whose hearts had waxed gross and who had wilfully 
closed their eyes that they might not see and understand the 
truth. We must then believe these remaining predictions of 


THE PROPHECY OF GENTILE DOMINION 89 


the inspired prophet, and since amidst the confusion and 
struggle taking place today among the nations of Europe, and 
especially the Balkan states, it is possible at almost any time 
now for these peoples, by alliances or by conquest, to become 
just ten kingdoms, and so form the ten toes of the great image, 
we conclude of necessity that the time for the smiting of 
that image by the God of heaven is not very far distant. Then 
the Kingdom age will follow immediately and complete the 
prophecy. The smiting will be accomplished by the outpouring 
of divine and supernatural judgments which will be followed by 
Christ’s appearing and Kingdom. 

Here then is the one prophecy on which to rest the assurance 
that the dawn of a new age is fast approaching. Gentile world 
power has about run its full course in this present evil age, and 
its history, which has been written in the blood of the slain, is 
very shortly to be completed. 


CuHaApTeER VIII 
INTRODUCTORY TO THE REVELATION 


The Revelation of Jesus Christ 

The second prophecy predicts the history of the Visible 
Church of Jesus Christ from the beginning to the end of this 
age. This history is contained in the epistles to the seven 
churches of “isia which are recorded in chapters 2nd and 3rd of 
the Book of the Revelation. However before taking up the 
consideration of these epistles, it will be well to have in mind 
some facts regarding the book in which they are found. These 
facts are supplied in the opening chapter of the Revelation. 
And this book is the revelation of Jesus Christ. Not merely a 
revelation from Him, but rather, and pre-eminently, a revelation 
of Him as He appears today, The glorified Son of Man. It is 
a revelation of Jesus as He stands related to this earth and all 
its riches, glory and honor, of which He is the rightful Proprie- 
tor; as He stands related also to the True Church of which He 
is the glorified Head and Husband; His relation is further 
shown to the nation of Israel of which He is the true Messiah, 
the Anointed One, to all Gentile nations of which He is the 
King of kings and the Lord of lords, and to all persons of every 
nation, tribe, kindred and tongue, of whom He is the gracious 
and all-sufficient Saviour if they will accept Him as such, but 
in any case to whom He stands related as “the Judge of all the 
earth, Who will do right,” and deal truthfully and justly with 
every one. 


The Revelation Is Approved of God 
Jesus received from God the Father Himself the Revelation 
to show unto His servants the things which must shortly come to 
pass. And Jesus sent His angel, probably a most exalted and 
distinguished member of the heavenly hosts, who is privileged 
go 


INTRODUCTORY TO THE REVELATION 91 


to attend upon Christ, to communicate the Revelation unto His 
servant John. This angel will not permit the servant of Christ 
to worship him, claiming to be merely a fellow servant and of 
his brethren the prophets; yet such is his exalted position and 
authority he does not hesitate to speak at times as though he 
were himself the Christ who was addressing John. Thus is 
revealed the close intimacy and complete understanding that 
exist between our Lord and His angel or ambassador. 


The Writer of the Book Is John, the Beloved Disciple 


The weight of evidence both traditional and textual strongly 
points to the beloved disciple and the apostle of Jesus Christ as 
the John who is mentioned as Christ’s servant, and ‘who bare 
record of the word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus 
Christ, and of all things that he saw.” He further makes the 
announcement, ‘‘Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear 
the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are 
written therein: for the time is at hand” (ch. 1: 1-3). It will 
later be shown conclusively that John the beloved disciple, and 
not John the Presbyter, is the writer of the Book of the 
Revelation. 

In the salutation to the seven churches in Asia to which he 
was directed to write, John invokes for them, “Grace and peace, 
from Him (the Father) Who is, and Who was, and Who is to 
come (revealing the unity existing between the Father and the 
Son) (John 10:30); and from the seven Spirits which are 
before His throne (signifying the one Holy Spirit in the pleni- 
tude of dispensational power and equipment for the work 
assigned to Him); and from Jesus Christ; to Whom a seven- 
fold description is ascribed: (1) The faithful Witness, (2) The 
First Begotten of the dead, (3) The Prince of the kings of the 
earth, (4) Him that loved us, (5) Who washed us from our 
sins in His own blood, (6) Who hath made us kings and priests 
unto God and His Father, (7) Him to Whom is the glory and 
dominion for ever and ever. Amen, or, “So let it be’ (ch. 
1: 5-8). 

Christ Is Extolled 


By this sevenfold description Christ is extolled: (1) As a 
witness He was faithful even though the truth does not please 


92 IS THE KINGDOM AGE AT HAND? 


all, and some would even kill Him for telling them the truth. 
Still He was faithful, and so continues to be in all that is re- 
vealed in this book which calls attention to certain truth that is 
not pleasing to any one, namely that for the impenitent there 
is no possible escape from the just wrath of a holy God. (2) 
As the First Begotten of the dead. This signifies His rank, and 
probably also points to.the rewards obtained as the result of His 
victory over death. Jesus Himself raised some from the dead 
before His own resurrection, and others were raised by Old 
Testament prophets. But such persons were raised to life only 
to die again, while over Jesus death had no more power. Hence 
He was the First Fruits of them that sleep. (3) As He Who 
is even now the Prince of all earthly kings. That He is neither 
recognized nor honored as such at present does not change the 
fact. (4) As He Who loved us enough to die for us while we 
were yet enemies, and Who still regards His own with an ever- 
lasting love. The Revised Version reads, “He loveth,” rather 
than merely, “He loved.” (5) As the One in Whose blood we 
are washed, cleansed, freed from all our sins, Jesus is further 
extolled (6) as He Who hath made us kings and priests unto 
God and His Father. Hence as a royal priesthood we can enter 
into the holy place and offer our prayers of intercession for 
others. And likewise (7) as He to Whom belongs the glory of 
the great salvation, and also the dominion over the earth, and 
over all things on the earth—a dominion which our race for- 
feited by sin, and can only regain through the work and blessing 
of the Redeemer. Thus at the very beginning of this book the 
glorified Son of Man is thus fittingly extolled by His servant 
John the beloved disciple. 


The Second Advent 


And John bears witness also (ch. 1:7) to His Second Ad- 
vent. “Behold, He cometh with clouds.” This accords with 
the testimony of the angels at the time of His ascension (Acts 
I:9-11). Everything in the Revelation directs attention and 
leads up to this great event, our Lord’s return: “He cometh.” 
This is the blessed hope (Titus 2:13) of all true Christians, 
even though some may fail to understand the full significance 
and meaning of the truth, “He cometh.”’ “And every eye shall 


INTRODUCTORY TO THE REVELATION 93 


see Him’; not only such as love His appearing, and who shall 
be caught up to meet Him in the air, but all others also shall see 
Him regardless of what may have been their attitude toward 
Him. The children of Israel, the natural seed of Abraham, are 
specially mentioned: “They also that pierced Him.” Like 
doubting Thomas, they refuse to believe except they see. And 
they shall see, and believe, and secure their reward, but it will 
not equal the blessedness of those who accept the evidence as 
sufficient, and believe even though they have not as yet seen Him 
(John 20:27-29). “And all kindred of the earth shall wail 
because of Him.” There are tears of joy as well as of sorrow. 
And there are tears of sorrow for sins that may cause one to 
weep bitterly, as did Peter after his denial, yet they may lead 
to rejoicing ; and there also is the wailing of lost souls that is 
hopeless. On that occasion there probably will be representa- 
tives of all classes. “Even so, Amen,” writes John in the confi- 
dence that the Judge of all the earth will do right; and that 
the return of Christ will mean the doom only of such as have 
justly earned the wages of sin. 

To this anouncement of His servant, Christ Himself adds the 
testimony, “I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the 
ending, saith the Lord, Who is, and Who was, and Who is to 
come, the Almighty” (v. 8). Thus, on His own behalf, Jesus 
claims for Himself, as the glorified Son of Man, the recognition 
and honor that belong only to “the High and Holy One that 
inhabiteth eternity.” 


Tohn’s Account of Himself 
In writing the Revelation of Jesus Christ to send to the 
seven churches of Asia, John, the servant of Christ who was 
chosen for the work, tells who he is, where he was at the time 
the Revelation was given to him, why he was in that particular 
place and how the vision was received by him. 
“T John, who also am your brother, and companion in 
tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus 


Christ, was in the isle that is called Patmos, for the word 
of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ” (v. 9). 


Thus he describes himself as the “brother and companion” of 
those to whom he was to send the Revelation (1) in tribulation: 


94 IS THE KINGDOM AGE AT HAND? 


The early Christians knew from experience that “If any man 
would live godly in Christ Jesus, he should suffer persecution.” 
The beloved disciple was no exception. (2) In the King¢dom,— 
the Kingdom prepared for the true servants of God from the 
foundation of the world, and which Jesus had promised to His 
disciples. By faith, which “is the substance of things hoped for, 
the evidence of things not seen” (Heb. 11:1), John was in the 
Kingdom. However the hope had not as yet been realized, and 
for that reason he was likewise (3) in the patience of Jesus 
Christ (Rom. 8:24, 25). 

Patmos is a small island of about sixty square miles. It lies 
to the SW of the coast of Asia minor, and it is not more than 
fifteen miles from Ephesus which was probably John’s home 
city. Ancient tradition says that offenders of rank were ban- 
ished to that rocky island and required to work in the mines or 
marble quarries. John was on that isle “for the word of God 
and for the testimony of Jesus Christ.” Whether “for the 
word of God, etc.,” explains the cause or the occasion of his 
being on Patmos is not clear, but according to tradition he was 
banished as an exile to that island, and probably for the crime 
of being a faithful witness for Christ. 


The Patmos Vision 


“T was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and heard be- 
hind me a great voice, as of a trumpet, saying, I am Alpha 
and Omega, the first and the last: and what thou seest, 
write in a book, and send it unto the seven churches that 
are in Asia” (vs. 10, I1). 


It is usual for expositors to explain that “being in the spirit 
on the Lord’s day,” means that John was either in a specially 
reverent frame of mind on that Sabbath, or that he was more 
than ordinarily filled with the Holy Spirit on that occasion. 
Such explanations of these words are mere private interpreta- 
tions, and one who indulges this unscriptural liberty at the very 
beginning of this prophecy need not expect to have its meaning 
made clear to him. The words thus misinterpreted supply the 
KEY to the understanding of this book; hence it is very impor- 
tant and necessary to learn their meaning from the Scriptures 
before attempting the study of this great prophecy. 


INTRODUCTORY TO THE REVELATION 95 


Consider then that the expression, “the Lord’s day,” is merely 
a brief form of rendering into English the genitive form of the 
Greek word signifying, “The day of the Lord,” and evidently it 
means nothing other than that same Day concerning the char- 
acter of which so much is to be found written in the Bible. 
Young’s, or any other good Concordance, will enable inquirers 
to find many such expressions as “the Lord’s house,” “the 
Lord’s law,” “the Lord’s temple,” “the Lord’s people,” “the 
Lord’s table,” “the Lord’s children,’ “the Lord’s covenant,” 
“the Lord’s word,” etc. They will also find, in every case, the 
other form of expressing the same thought in English as, “the 
house of the Lord,” “the law of the Lord,” “the temple of the 
Lord,” “the people of the Lord,” “the table of the Lord,” “the 
children of the Lord,” ‘‘the covenant of the Lord,” and “the 
word of the Lord.” Now will any one of intelligence seriously 
claim that the difference in the English form of translating the 
genitive of one and the same word causes a change in the mean- 
ing? Certainly they will not. Then why contrary to all 
precedent and without the least authority from the Scriptures 
should the Greek genitive in this particular verse be rendered 
“the Lord’s day” instead of “the day of the Lord”? And why 
attach to the word the meaning of “the first day of the week,” or 
the Christian Sabbath, a meaning that the expression never has 


anywhere in the Bible? 


The Parousta Is Not the Day of the Lord 
Dr. R. F. Weymouth in “The New Testament in Modern 
Speech,” translates “kuriokos.” “The day of the Lord,” and, in 


a footnote, he claims that it refers 


- “either to the time of the Redeemer’s Parousia, or return 
to this earth, or else to the interval that was to elapse 
before the coming of that time.” He says, “that was 
the Seer’s standpoint,’ and he adds, “IN THE TEACHING 
OF THE APOSTLES XIV, we read, ‘Every Lord’s (day) of 
the Lord come together and break bread.’ Otherwise we 
have no reason to suppose that Sunday had yet received 
its present name of the Lord’s day.” 


As a matter of fact there is no reason whatever to suppose 
that the Lord’s day and Sunday were by any of the inspired 


96 IS THE KINGDOM AGE AT HAND? 


writers regarded as synonymous. There is evidence that some 
of the early Christians called the first day of the week the 
Lord’s day, to distinguish it from the Jewish Sabbath. There 
is no evidence that the practice ever became general until more 
recent times. However that is aside from the point. The Book 
of the Revelation is the work of an inspired writer who cer- 
tainly would not attach an entirely new meaning to a familiar 
expression without so much as a word or a hint to indicate that 
he had used the expression te convey a thought entirely different 
from what ordinarily would be understood by it. 

Further it appears as though Dr. Weymouth had confused, 
“The day of the Lord,” with the Parousia or the Lord’s return 
to this earth. That was the mistake of the Thessalonians who 
as taught by the apostle were waiting for the return of Christ 
(1 Thes. 1:10), but they appear to have thought that “the 
return of Christ,” and “the day of Christ,” or “the day of the 
Lord,” referred to the same time and event. Hence they were 
greatly troubled and the fear that “the day of Christ” was at 
hand caused them to become alarmed. But while Paul encour- 
aged them to continue in the hope of the speedy coming of the 
Lord, and of the gathering of the saints together unto Him, 
yet he plainly teaches that “the day of Christ,’ or “of the 
Lord,’ was a very different thing. He reminds them that 
THAT DAY would not come until after the Spirit had been 
withdrawn, and after the apostacy of the Church, and after the 
man of sin, the son of perdition, or the lawless one, or the 
Antichrist, had been revealed (2 Thes. 2:1-12). 

“The day of the Lord” includes the whole period of the great 
tribulation (Lk. 17: 26-32), but especially the closing day of 
that event which is to end with that one “Great day of the wrath 
of God and of the Lamb.” This event will come only after 
“The Rapture,” or “The appearing of Christ for His saints,” 
and it will precede the return of Christ with His saints to reign 
on the earth (John 14:2, 3; 1 Thes. 4: 13-18; Jude 14; Rev. 
1:7; 5:10). We understand them, “the day of the Lord,” or 
‘the Lord’s day,” to have the same meaning and to refer to the 
same period of time as do like expressions when used in other 
portions of the Scriptures (Zech. 14: 1-7; Mal. 4:1; Lk. 21: 22, 
CECH) : 


INTRODUCTORY TO THE REVELATION 97 


The Seer in the Spirit Saw the Events of the Lord’s Day 

The Seer explains therefore that “in the spirit,” rather than 
in the body, he was set down in the midst of the day of the 
Lord. Thus he became a witness to the terrible events that at 
that time will occur on the earth. Paul declared that he was 
caught up into Paradise, but “whether in the body, or out of 
the body,” he did not know. John however knew that it was 
impossible for him to be present in the body, to behold scenes 
that would not occur until a time in the distant future. But in 
the spirit, “he was transported to that future day and permitted 
to witness some times in the heavenlies, and at other times while 
standing on the earth, the scenes that would only actually 
materialize “in the days of the vengeance of our God.” Thus 
he saw and was qualified to testify concerning the things which 
shall be hereafter. And since the voice was speaking in the 
present time while “in the spirit,’ John was in the future he 
heard the “voice behind him, a great voice as a trumpet.” 


The Seven Churches of Asia 

The Speaker was the glorified Son of Man who commissioned 
John to write what he saw in a book or scroll, and to send it 
unto the seven churches which are in Asia. These churches 
were as follows: Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamos, Thyatira, Sardis, 
Philadelphia and Laodicea. Going north from Ephesus to 
Pergamos, thence east to Thyatira, and south to Laodicea, a 
traveler might visit each of these towns in which had been 
planted Christian Churches. There were other such churches 
in Asia; some even larger and more influential, but for some 
reason Jesus chose to send the message only to these seven 
which He specially designated. And that reason, as will be 
shown, was because the number seven stands for dispensational 
fulness or completion, and because in those particular local 
churches at that very time there were present certain moral and 
spiritual conditions to which attention is called in the epistles 
sent to each; and Jesus to Whom all things are known knew 
that these various conditions, in each of these seven churches, 
would characterize the One Visible Church in her development, 
during the seven periods of her history which began and will 
end with “the dispensation of the grace of God.” For that 


98 IS THE KINGDOM AGE AT HAND? 


reason He chose only seven churches, and He selected these 
particular churches to provide in part the prophecy of this book, 
—a prophecy which from first to last is a forecast of the history 
of the Christian Church, of the nation of Israel, and of the 
Gentile world power from the beginning to the end of this 
present evil age,—an age which will witness the end also of 
“the times of the Gentiles.” 


The Vision of the Judge of All the Earth 


From the position which “in the spirit’ he occupied in time 
future, the Seer turned to look back to his own day and time 


“To see the voice that spake with me. And being 
turned I saw seven golden candlesticks; and in the midst 
of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of Man, 
clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about 
the paps with a golden girdle” (vs. 12, 13). 


The One like the Son of Man is generally recognized as our 
Lord Jesus Christ. However Jesus here appears to John not 
as the Man of Sorrows, acquainted with grief, from Whom, in 
the days of His earthly ministry, men turned away the face as 
from one possessed of no attraction for them. Rather as John 
then beheld Him Jesus appeared marvelously transformed. He 
is the glorified Son of Man possessed of a comeliness, beauty 
and majesty, surpassing the power of words fittingly to describe. 
The garment He wears and the position also of the golden 
girdle suggest at once a person of high rank, possessed of both 
royal and priestly dignity. To describe His appearance the 
Seer must employ similes and he writes: 


“His head and His hairs were white like wool, as white 
as snow; and His eyes were as a flame of fire; and His 
feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; 
and His voice as the sound of many waters” (vs. 14, I5). 


This at once suggests that “the hoary head is a crown of 
glory, if it be found in the way of righteousness.” But the 
description has a far deeper significance. In Daniel’s vision 
there is seen “one like the Son of Man Who came to the Ancient 
of days to receive dominion, glory and a Kingdom.” And of 


INTRODUCTORY TO THE REVELATION 99 


the Ancient of days, Who is God the Father, it is declared, 
“His garment was white as snow, and the hair of His head like 
the pure wool” (Dan. 7:9, 13, 14). This pen picture of Jesus 
therefore identifies Him with deity. He was in the beginning 
with God, and was God; and He, Whom John beholds, is none 
other than very God, the Second Person of the Trinity, the 
God-Man glorified. Paul, the chiefest of the apostles, was no 
doubt granted the privilege of seeing Him Whom he was perse- 
cuting as “the One altogether lovely, and the chiefest among 
ten thousand.” But it is permitted to no other prophet or 
apostle than John, the disciple whom Jesus loved, to furnish for 
the reverent contemplation of all who love the Lord an inspired 
picture of Him Who is the Judge of all the earth. Happy 
indeed are all they who can truly say: “This is my Friend.” _ 


Jesus Is Qualified for His Great Work 


Even as fire burns away and consumes all dross so that only 
the pure metal remains, so those eyes will pierce through and 
penetrate every subterfuge ever used by any one to deceive. 
They also will burn their way down to the deepest recesses of 
man’s being to discover the motive and the very thought behind 
every word and every act. Thus there is nothing done in secret 
that can be kept from those eyes; for by them every hidden thing 
shall be discovered and revealed. 

And those feet of burnished brass reveal how utterly power- 
less, puny and insignificant even the mightiest of His opponents 
will be in that day of the Lord which the Seer describes (Rev. 
19:22), and concerning which Jehovah-Jesus declared: 


“T have trodden the winepress alone; and of the people 
there was none with Me: for I will tread them in Mine 
anger, and trample them in My fury: and their blood 
shall be sprinkled upon My garments, and I will stain 
all My raiment; for the day of vengeance is in My heart, 
and the year of My redeemed is come. And I looked, 
and there was none to help, and I wondered that there 
was none to uphold; therefore Mine own arm brought 
deliverance; and My fury, it upheld Me. And I will 
tread down the people in Mine anger, and make them 
drunk in My fury, and I will bring down their strength 
to the earth” (Isa. 63: 3-6). 


100 IS THE KINGDOM AGE AT HAND? 


But while the invincible power, suggested by those feet of 
burnished brass, may well cause the enemies of Jesus Christ to 
fear and tremble, on the other hand they inspire with confidence 
all who trust in Him and who wait for Him to deliver them 
from all their enemies. 


“Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the 
everlasting God, Jehovah, the Creator of the ends of the 
earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? There is no search- 
ing of His understanding. He giveth power to the faint; 
and to them that have no might He increaseth strength. 
Even the youth shall faint and be weary, and the young 
men shall utterly fall: but they that wait upon the Lord 
shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with 
wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary and 
they shall walk, and not faint’ (Isa. 40: 28-31). 


Further, John likens His voice to the sound of many waters. 
It is therefore a voice that will be heard, and it is a voice of 
power and authority that can compel obedience and submission. 
At the command of that voice even the wind and sea obey; and 
the day is coming when “all that are in the grave shalf hear His 
voice, and shall come forth” at His command. 


“And He had in His right hand seven stars: and out 
of His mouth went a sharp twoedged sword: and His 
countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength” 
(v. 16). 


Everything about this description of the glorified Son of 
Man bespeaks power, might and divine majesty that qualify 
Him for His work both of Judge and of Ruler. The stars in 
His right hand, the sharp sword that went out of His mouth 
and the countenance shining like the sun in mid-day splendor © 
and strength recall the words of the psalmist: 


“We have heard with our ears, O God, our fathers 
have told us, what work Thou didst in their days, in the 
times of old. How Thou didst drive out the nations with 
Thy hand, and plantest them; how Thou didst afflict the 
people and cast them out. For they got not the land in 
possession by their own sword, neither did their arm save 
them: but Thy right hand, and Thine arm, and the light 
of Thy countenance, because Thou hast a favor unto 
them” (Ps. 44: 1-3). : 


INTRODUCTORY TO THE REVELATION 101 


Before the light of that countenance the unconverted, perse- 
cuting Saul, who afterward became Paul the great apostle to 
the Gentiles, was smitten to the earth. And Pau! declares that 
the brightness of His appearing will destroy the lawless one, 
the man of sin, the son of perdition. And when the saintly John 
beheld Him in His matchless glory, even that beloved disciple 
- writes: 

“And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead.” 
(Viue7): 


What confident assurance the true believer therefore is justi- 
fied in possessing and proclaiming, not only as regards his 
present safety and salvation, nor yet merely in respect to his 
certain victory over death and the sting of death; but not less as 
regards his future entrance into the joys of his Lord? This 
confidence will be further strengthened if he recalls the words 
of the Lord Jesus concerning those whom He claims as Flis own, 
“No man is able to pluck them out of My hand. My Father 
Who gave them unto Me is greater than all; and no man is able 
to pluck them out of My Father’s hand. I and My Father are 


one” (John 10: 29). 


John Is Comforted and Commnussioned to Write 


Upon His beloved friend and disciple the glorified Christ 
gently laid His hand to bestow comfort. The Seer writes: 


“And He laid His hand upon me, saying unto me, 
Fear not; I am the first and the last: I am He that liveth, 
and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore. 
Amen: and have the keys of hades and of death” (vs. 


1 eh ete he 


Blessed assurance! The power and authority over hades and 
death which Jesus manifested when He arose triumphant from 
the tomb, and when He made the cloud His chariot and 
ascended, in glorious majesty, to His place at the right hand of 
the Father, He has never laid aside, but as he declared to His 
beloved disciple, He still retains the keys. And since today 
Jesus is on the throne of His Father Who ruleth, not merely 
over the earth, but also over the entire universe, the true be- 


102 IS THE KINGDOM AGE AT HAND? 


liever can sing with the spirit and with the understanding, 
“Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of 
death,” or in other words, Although with the dark and dread 
shadow of death, the king of terrors, hovering over and around 
me, I walk through this earth, knowing that it is appointed unto 
men once to die, still I will fear no evil: for Thou art with me; 
and Thou hast the keys of hades and of death. 

After comforting His friend, the glorified Son of Man gave 
the Seer his commission: - 


“Write the things which thou hast seen, and the things 
which are, and the things which shall be hereafter.” 


(v. 19). 


Here, then, was John’s commission. He was to write the 
things which he had seen, manifestly the vision of Christ glori- 
fied and fully equipped for His work as the Judge of all the 
earth; also the things that are which not less evidently referred 
to the conditions both moral and spiritual as they then prevailed 
in the seven churches to which he was to write, and to the con- 
ditions that prevailed at that time and have prevailed ever since 
on the earth under the reign of Satan; and then finally, he was 
to write the things which shall be hereafter, or during the great 
tribulation on the heels of which will follow the great and 
dreadful day of the Lord. 


The Revelation Meant to be Understood, and Not to Mystify 


“The mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in 
My right hand, and the seven golden candlesticks. The 
seven stars are the angels of the seven churches: and 
the seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven 
churches” (v. 20). 


But before John was permitted to write anything, the mys- 
tery of the seven stars in the right hand of the glorified One, 
and the mystery of the golden candlesticks in the midst of which 
He appeared, must needs be carefully explained. God gave 
this revelation of His Son Jesus Christ, not for the purpose of 
mystifying His servants who believed on Him, but rather “to 
show unto Hts servants the things which must shortly come to 
pass’ (v. 1). 


INTRODUCTORY TO THE REVELATION 103: 


In the several visions which John records there are mysteries ; 
symbols also are employed, and there are “dark sayings of old” 
not a few. But for the understanding of these things the ser- 
vants of Christ are not left to guesswork. Rather it is re- 
quired that, like the Bereans, they shall search the Scriptures, 
because somewhere in God’s precious Word all the mysteries 
are cleared up, and all the symbols, and not less the dark sayings 
are explained, even as are the mysteries of the seven stars and 
of the seven golden candlesticks. The seven stars are the angels 
of the seven churches: and the seven candlesticks are the seven 
churches. 


A Prayer for the Guidance of the Holy Spint as We Study 
This Prophecy 

Blessed and adorable Holy Spirit, as the Third Person of the 
Trinity we believe in Thee and desire wholeheartedly to trust 
in Thee as our divine Teacher and Guide. 

We know Thee only as we know the Father through the 
revelation of Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour. 

In the Word of God Thy work is declared. We are 
acquainted therefore with what Thou hast performed in con- 
nection with the restoration of a ruined earth to make it a 
habitable abode for man. We know in part at least what work 
Thou hast done in securing the conviction and conversion of 
sinners, in creating them anew through the washing of regen- 
eration, in building them up, according to their use of divinely 
appointed means, in faith and in holiness, and in sealing such 
unto the day of redemption. 

We know Thee as the One Who bears witness with our 
spirits that we are the children of God, and Who also maketh 
intercession for us. 

But we know little of Thy Person and glorious perfections ; 
for Thou hast not come into the world to speak of Thyself. 
Rather Thou art come to take of the things of Christ, and to 
reveal them unto us. This is Thy great mission in the present 
dispensation of the grace of God, and Thou, and Thou alone 
art able to lead into all truth those who will obey Thee and 
follow Thy leading. 

We look to Thee then and depend on Thee to work in us 


104 IS THE KINGDOM AGE AT HAND? 


both to will and to do of God’s good pleasure. Come Holy 
Spirit to dwell in us, and to abide with us. Be Thou our Guide 
and Teacher in all our reading of God’s Word, and especially 
as we study the Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave 
unto Him to show unto His servants the things which must 
shortly come to pass. 

This favor and blessing we invoke in the name of Jesus our 


Lord Whose appearing is our hope. Amen. 


CHAPTER IX 


THE PROPHECY CONCERNING THE VISIBLE 
CHURCH 


THE FIRST THREE EPISTLES 


The Witness of History to the Prophetic Character of the 
Seven Epistles to the Churches 

There are many who do not consider the epistles to the 
seven churches as being a prophetic forecast of the character, 
course and condition of the One Visible Church in each of the 
several periods or epochs of her history during this entire evil 
age. And among those who reject this understanding and 
interpretation of these epistles are some of the most eminent, 
scholarly, trusted and beloved leaders of the Church and ex- 
ponents of the Word of God. But while these Bible students 
agree to reject this method of interpreting these epistles they 
are at disagreement among themselves as to just what we are 
to learn today for our profit from these letters, and also as 
regards the special purpose they serve in connection with the 
other teachings of the Book of the Revelation which all ex- 
positors accept as being prophetic in character. 

Further, there is not one of these expositors who has any 
explanation to offer as to why there are just seven epistles, or 
as to why these particular and for the most part obscure 
churches were addressed, rather than some of the larger and 
better known churches which also existed at that time in Asia 
Minor. Beside, although some few of these scholars notice the 
fact, still they have no reason to suggest as to why, in the first 
three epistles, the words, “He that hath an ear, let him hear 
what the Spirit saith unto the churches,” come before the prom- 
ise given to him that overcometh, while in the last four epistles 
they come after that promise, and at the very close of the epistle. 

105 


106 IS THE KINGDOM AGE AT HAND? 


This fact suggests that the Holy Spirit, having been resisted 
and grieved, is about to withdraw from the fellowship of a 
Church in which He is being dishonored. 

But the Bible requires that we prove all things, and for- 
tunately it will not be very difficult today to demonstrate from 
the history of the Church herself, as it has now been written 
for a period covering more than nineteen centuries, that these 
epistles addressed to the seven churches are nothing less or other 
than a prophetic forecast of the character and conduct of the 
One Visible Church from the beginning down to the very end 
of the dispensation of the grace of God. 


Read Any Church History; Preferably Dr. Schaff’s 

Almost any Church historian will serve the purpose. But 
there are reasons why “The History of the Christian Church,” 
by Dr. Philip Schaff, is specially recommended to all who 
desire to put to the test the claim that these seven epistles are 
a prophetic forecast of the condition and course of the Visible 
Church of Jesus Christ during the several periods of her history 
as it has now been written. 

The reasons briefly stated are: (1) Among the many Church 
historians Dr. Schaff is generally recognized as one of the best 
and most scholarly; (2) He cannot be accused of bias in favor 
of the above claim, since he rejects it; (3) Failing to make any 
distinction between the Church and the Kingdom of heaven, he 
declares that “Church history is a continuous commentary on 
the Lord’s twin parables of the Mustard Seed and the Leaven.” 
Both of these parables were spoken of the Kingdom and not at 
all of the Church, but the Doctor considers the Church and 
the Kingdom identical. 

Further, Dr. Schaff divides his history of the Church into 
nine epochs, or periods, but of these epochs he says, the fourth, 
fifth and sixth, which cover the Middle or Dark Ages, “are 
related to each other as the wild youth, the ripe manhood and 
the declining old age of one person. The three periods may be 
treated separately or as a continuous whole. Both methods 
have their advantages.” He chose to treat them separately; 
had he treated them as one, instead of three, he would have 
had seven instead of nine epochs. And seven is the number of 


PROPHECY CONCERNING THE VISIBLE CHURCH 107 


dispensational fulness or completion,—a fact that at least sug- 
gests that the epistles to the seven churches include what it has 
pleased God, through His servant John, to reveal concerning 
the One Visible Church throughout the whole course of her 
history, during the entire church age, or dispensation, the same 
as do the seven spirits before the throne reveal the plenitude of 
the One Holy Spirit in His dispensational fulness and power. 


A Fair Method of Comparison Only Is Necessary 


It is proposed then to learn from the Scriptures what they 
have to teach in regard to the character and conduct of each of 
these particular churches to which the epistles are addressed. 
And what the Bible reveals on the subject can be compared with 
what has been written by Dr. Schaff, or some other Church 
historian, concerning the Church in each of the several periods 
of her history. There is certainly no fairer or more satisfactory 
way in which to test the claim that the seven epistles are a 
prophetic forecast of the history of the One Visible Church 
during this age than by this proposed method. And in our 
judgment such a test will prove Dr. Schaff’s theory false, and 
on the other hand supply the very best possible evidence in 
support of the claim which he rejects, at least by implication. 


The Church of Ephesus 


“Unto the angel of the Church of Ephesus write; These 
things saith He that holdeth the seven stars in His right 
hand, Who walketh in the midst of the seven golden 
candlesticks” (ch. 2:1). 


Angels are ministering spirits; and God’s angels are sent 
forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation (Heb. 
1:14). Every person and each organization of people possess 
and cultivate a spirit of ministry, if not for others, then for 
self. Churches, being professedly the organized followers of 
Christ Whose whole life was a ministry of loving service 
rendered to others, will likewise possess a spirit of ministry, 
and if the Church be composed of a majority who are true 
followers of Christ that Church will manifest a spirit for 
ministering to others, while if the majority are mere professors 


108 IS THE KINGDOM AGE AT HAND? 


or false professors, theirs will be a spirit of self ministry. In 
either case the spirit represents the organization or Church and 
justly shares with the members either the deserved commenda- 
tion or condemnation. ‘That ministering spirit is personified, 
and in the several epistles addressed as “the angel of the 
Church,” because it truly represents the spirit that prevails and 
controls among the members of the organization. 

Further, in each of the first five epistles, the One sending the 
message identifies Himself by one or another of the character- 
istics found in the inspired pen picture of the Son of Man (ch. 
I:12-17), thus making it manifest that Christ, the Judge of 
all the earth, is He who speaks to these churches; Hence all do 
well to take heed how they hear. And to the angel of the 
Church of Ephesus the Glorified Christ describes Himself as 
the One Who holds in His hand the spirits of these churches, 
and Who also is in their very midst, and so He knows what 
they are and what they are doing; hence in each case after 
announcing Himself, His message begins with the words, “I 
know thy works.” 

The message to the Ephesian Church begins with commenda- 
tion: 

“T know thy works, and thy labor, and thy patience, 
and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and 
thou has tried them which say they are apostles, and are 
not, and hast found them liars: and hast borne, and hast 
patience, and for My name’s sake hast labored, and hast 
not fainted (chi2. 2iae 


But the spirit of that Church was not perfect; hence the 
message continues: 


“Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because 
thou hast left thy first love. Remember therefore from 
whence thou hast fallen, and repent, and do the first 
works; or else J will come unto thee quickly, and will 
remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou 
repent. But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of 
the Nicolaitanes, which I also hate” (ch. 2: 4-6). 


This Church had left its first love. In other words it was no 
longer possessed of the spirit of those ready to forsake houses 


PROPHECY CONCERNING THE VISIBLE CHURCH 109 


and lands, parents and children, and even to count not life dear 
to self in serving the Lord as had been the spirit of the apostles 
and of the first disciples because of their love for Christ (Matt. 
19:27; Lk..5:11). -No, such supreme love had been left 
behind ; it was no longer in evidence in the Church as a whole. 
There was still great love for Christ shown in the willingness 
to obey Him, and many of the members were willing even to 
lay down their lives for His name’s sake. But that was not the 
spirit of the Church at that time as it had been at the first. 
Rather, their love had become mixed with the alloy of selfish- 
ness. For this reason there was reproof, also a call to repent- 
ance, and a threat to remove her candlestick out of his place in 
the midst of the Church. But this Church was specially com- 
mended for hating the deeds of the Nicolaitanes (Greek, nikao, 
“to conquer,” and laos, “the people’ or “laity’”) which were 
also hateful to Christ. 
“He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit 
saith unto the churches; to him that overcometh will I 


give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of 
the paradise of God” (ch. 2:7). 


Spiritual sight and hearing depend on the indwelling of the 
Holy Spirit; hence these faculties are not possessed by all 
Church members ; but those having the ear are directed to hear 
what the Spirit saith unto the churches in these epistles. And 
the overcomer was promised the privilege to eat of the tree of 
life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of God. That tree 
was removed from the Garden of Eden after the fall of man, 
but under the new heaven and on the new earth when Paradise 
will be restored for earth dwellers, there will again be found 
the tree of life and its meaning will be considered in that con- 
nection. Such then were the conditions in the Church of 
Ephesus as recorded in the Scriptures (Rev. 2: 1-7). 


First Period of Church History, A.D, I-00 

Turn now to the historian to learn what he has to say con- 
cerning the Church in the first period of her history. This 
epoch Dr. Schaff designates as “Christianity in the Apostolic 


110 IS THE KINGDOM AGE AT HAND? 


Church, from the incarnation to the death of St. John, A.D. 
I-100.” 

It is impossible to quote from this historian verbatim, but 
all are recommended to read the history for themselves and 
to verify the statements here made which are only a very brief 
summary of the facts recorded by the historian. 

And it is admitted that during this first period the Church 
is at her best. She adheres to the teachings of Christ and His 
apostles, and holds loyally to the faith delivered once for all 
unto the saints by these inspired teachers. She reveals the 
spirit of the Master in her ministry, testifying to the grace of 
God which bringeth salvation, keeping herself apart from the 
evils which are in the world, and faithfully adhering to the rule 
that “One is our Master, even Christ, and all we are brethren.” 

In this period the Church is greatly troubled with false 
teachers some of whom claim to be apostles; but she turns a 
deat ear to all such teachers and holds fast to the teachings of 
Scripture. In brief, the historian finds that conditions in the 
Church during this period are very similar to those described 
in the epistle to the Church of Ephesus. Love for Christ still 
continued to burn brightly although not quite so ardently as 
at the first. 

Such a sect as the Nicolaitanes is unknown, but the spirit, of 
which the etymology of the word is suggestive, which also later 
developed and divided an equal Church brotherhood (Matt. 
23:8) into “priests” or “clergy” who were to be distinguished 
from and regarded as in all respect superior to the “laity,” was 
' not even tolerated among the Christians of that period. Rather, 
they held to the teachings of the Master when he declared, “Ye 
know that they which are accounted to rule over the Gentiles 
exercise lordship over them; and their great ones exercise 
authority over them. But so it shall not be among you: but 
whosoever will be great among you shall be your minister: and 
whosoever of you will be chiefest shall be servant of all. For 
even the Son of Man came not to be ministered unto, but to 
minister, and to give His life a ransom for many” (Mk. 
10: 42-45). 

This is a brief and very incomplete summary of what Dr. 
Schaff has recorded in his history. And all are earnestly. 


PROPHECY CONCERNING THE VISIBLE CHURCH 111 


recommended to read it for there is none better to be found. 
But sufficient has been gleaned to show that the historian was 
correct in closing the history of this period with the statement, 
“The conditions found in the Church, during this period of her 
history, are very similar to those mentioned in the epistle to the 
Church of Ephesus.” 


The Church in Smyrna 
Consider then the epistle to the Church in Smyrna. 


“And unto the angel of the Church in Smyrna write; 
These things saith the first and the last, who was dead, 
and is alive; I know thy works, and tribulation, and 
poverty (but thou art rich) and I know the blasphemy 
of them which say they are Jews, and are not, but are 
the synagogue of Satan. Fear none of those things which 
thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you 
into prison that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribu- 
lation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will 
give thee a crown of life. He that hath an ear, let him 
hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; he that 
overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death” 
(ch. 2:8-11). 


As though anticipating the experience to be suffered by this 
Church, its members are reminded that He Who sent them the 
message is the first and the last, Who was dead, and is alive. 
He knows and sympathizes with the spirit of this Church which 
endures tribulation and poverty. However, He declares they 
are rich; for they have the true riches which the world can 
neither give nor take away. And He knows the blasphemy of 
those who profess the true faith in hypocrisy, and brands such 
as the emissaries of Satan. The faithful He exhorts, Not to 
fear the things they should suffer; and they are specially warned 
that the devil would cast some of them into prison, and they 
were to have tribulation for ten days. 

_ This certainly is a pen picture of a Church under persecution, 
(1) from false brethren, and (2) from the unconverted, godless 
world. The so-called Jews were either those in the fellowship 
of the Church, or those among the Jews who professed to be 
God’s people, but who were unrelenting persecutors of Chris- 
tians. Among the Christians of that period many were converts 


112 IS THE KINGDOM AGE AT HAND? 


from Judaism, and some such chose to retain their identity as 
Jews although they professed to be followers of Christ. Such 
were not true converts, and possible they were the leaders in 
the movement that led the Church away from her first love. 
Evidently they had very little sympathy with the beliefs and 
practices of Christians who would not observe the laws of 
Moses. Hence they opposed and criticized such, and spake all 
manner of evil against them falsely. They would also choose 
for their associates and companions unbelievers of whom many 
were considered very nice respectable people although they were 
worldlings who would not profess Christ as their Saviour and 
Lord. 

And it is not difficult to understand how this dislike for true 
Christians, which was cherished by mere Jewish professors, 
might easily be communicated to their friends who would fur- 
ther spread exaggerated reports and rumors to other repre- 
sentatives of the world until at last the suspicion of the entire 
community might be awakened against the true followers of 
Jesus Christ. As a result, without just cause or fair trial, they 
would be judged, condemned and persecuted by a godless world 
as supposed enemies charged with secretly plotting against the 
welfare of society. This is ever a favorite method of the devil 
who thus engenders evil passions in his children, and so arouses 
them to acts of hostility against the righteous. 

The tribulation is said to be for ten days. But the number 
ten stands for the completion of man’s imperfect work; hence 
the ten days cover all the persecutions to which the Christians 
of that period were subjected. Of course the purpose of these 
persecutions was to exterminate the followers of Christ, but 
while the Christians suffered terribly, the purpose of their 
persecutors was not realized. Then as always the blood of the 
martyrs proved to be the seed of the Church, and the ten days 
represented the entire period of the world’s open and active 
antagonism to the Church. All who were faithful unto death 
were promised the crown of life. This is not the diadem, or 
royal crown, but the victor’s wreath of victory and rejoicing. 
And the overcomer was not to be hurt of the second death 
which means the final banishment of the soul from God to abide 
under His wrath. 


PROPHECY CONCERNING THE VISIBLE CHURCH 113 


Second Perwod of Church History, A.D. 100-311 

The historian Schaff defines this second period as “Chris- 
tianity under persecution in the Roman empire. From the death 
of St. John to Constantine, the first Christian emperor, A.D. 
100-311.” 

And history records that during this period from one cause 
and another many professed Christians began to manifest a 
spirit of impatience with the strict rules and practices of the 
Apostolic Church; much also of the former zeal for true and 
undefiled religion was abandoned, and in its place there ap- 
peared the willingness, and even the desire, to conform more 
and more to the customs of the world of unregenerate humanity 
in order to escape the reproach and ill-will that were stirred up 
by a consistent adherence to Church requirements and vows. 

The historian further describes the terrible persecutions that 
raged during this period under the direction of several of the 
Roman emperors. Thus multitudes of Christians were com- 
pelled to endure all manner of reproaches and indignities for 
Christ’s sake together with imprisonment, torture, and the most 
shameful and cruel deaths that devilish ingenuity and malice 
could devise. Schaff specifically refers to this period as “the 
age of the martyrs of Jesus Christ.” He mentions these perse- 
cutions as continuing, with greater or less fury, throughout 
practically the entire epoch, or down to the conversion of Con- 
stantine, the first Christian emperor. 

Those who have eyes to see can easily recognize the remark- 
able resemblance between conditions as they are described in 
the epistle to the Church in Smyrna, and the facts of history as 
these have been recorded by many able and faithful historians 
of the Christian Church. 


The Church in Pergamos 


Pass on therefore to the consideration of what has been 
written for our learning concerning the Church in Pergamos: 


“And to the angel of the Church in Pergamos write; 
These things saith He Who hath the sharp sword with 
two edges; I know thy works, and where thou dwellest, 
even where Satan’s seat is: and thou holdest fast My 
name, and hast not denied My faith, even in those days 


114 IS THE KINGDOM AGE AT HAND? 


wherein Antipas was My faithful martyr, who was slain 
among you, where Satan dwelleth” (ch. 2:12, 13). 


In the first epistle, Christ describes Himself as “He Who 
walketh in the midst of the seven candlesticks,”’—a picture of 
close and loving fellowship with His people. In the second 
epistle, He identifies Himself as “the first and the last, Who 
was dead, and is alive,” as though to comfort and to give needed 
encouragement to those whom He exhorts “‘to be faithful unto 
death,” and to whom He gives the promise “I will give thee 
the crown of life.” But in this third epistle, He reminds those 
to whom the message is sent that “He hath the sharp sword 
with two edges,” as though to warn those addressed that their 
conduct, if persisted in, would bring punishment upon them. 

This Church still professed to be Christian and it clung to 
the faith even in the days of the martyr Antipas. No such 
person as Antipas is known to the historian as having been 
martyred at that time. But the word means, “against all,” and 
it may be employed to signify and to include all Christians who 
had been put to death, because they would not consent in any 
manner to conform to the world. In loyalty to Christ they had 
held out against all persons and refused every inducement that 
might have been offered to them to make friends with the 
world of unregenerate humanity. 


Those Who Imperiled Their Souls to Save Thew Lives 


Others, however, while known as Christians and while the 
did not repudiate the faith, evidently considered it wiser and 
better in every way to live at peace with the world rather than 
to suffer martyrdom. Thus, during the reign of persecution 
they had escaped with their lives, but it proved to be at the peril 
of their souls, because they are now found dwelling where 
Satan’s seat is. Satan of course dwells in the world of ungodly 
men and women,—the world that lieth in the evil one. And his 
seat of power and authority is that of civil rulers who occupy 
the places of power and influence in the nation, and whom Satan 
can control through their covetousness and selfish ambition. 

It is through such rulers that Satan is able to make laws that 
are opposed to God’s law, and to require submission to his will 


‘PROPHECY CONCERNING THE VISIBLE CHURCH 115 


in disregard of the will of God. As taught by Jesus and His 
inspired apostles, the thought of the first Christians was that 
they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth, but here in 
Pergamos the Christians had settled themselves down in the 
world where Satan dwelleth, and were depending for their 
protection and safety on an arm of flesh, rather than on the 
mighty God of Jacob. 


The Doctrine of Balaam 


“But I have a few things against thee, because thou 
hast them that hold the doctrine of Balaam who taught. 
Balak to cast a stumblingblock before the children of 
Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit 
fornication” (ch. 2:14). 


Among these Christians were those who held the doctrine of 
Balaam because of which Israel had become idolaters and 
fornicators in God’s sight. (Everywhere in Scripture the 
worship of idols is viewed as spiritual unchastity. ) 

Balak, king of Moab, had offered Balaam great reward if he 
would curse Israel, and the prophet was very anxious to get 
that reward, but he could not curse those whom God had 
blessed (Num. 31:15, 16; 22:5; 23:8). However, he thought 
out another way by which he hoped to gain the coveted reward. 
And this was the way of Balaam (2 Pet. 2:15): He reasoned 
that if he could corrupt Israel and induce them to do evil in 
the sight of the Lord, that then God would no longer bless 
them; hence he would be able to curse them and so obtain for 
himself the offered reward which might have been money, or 
position and popularity. 

It never seems to have occurred to this false prophet that 
while God would certainly chasten His people for their sin, 
they might be brought thus to repentance, and so continue to 
enjoy the blessing of God. This was the error of Balaam, or 
the mistake in his reasoning (Jude 11). He therefore sug- 
gested to Balak to make peace with Israel; to treat them 
kindly, and so induce them to allow their sons to marry godless 
wives, and to give their daughters to unite in marriage with 
heathen husbands. This was what Balak did, and to their 
sorrow Israel accepted these terms, settled in Shittim, lived at 


116 IS THE KINGDOM AGE AT HAND? 


peace with Balak, began to intermarry with these idolaters, and 
to offer sacrifices to their gods. 

Thus Israel was guilty of spiritual unchastity, and having 
defiled themselves with the heathen, God sent a plague upon 
His people that destroyed twenty-four thousand of them. As 
a mere hireling prophet, loving the wages of unrighteousness 
and anxious only to make a market for his gift (2 Pet. 2:15), 
Balaam succeeded to that extent, but contrary to his expectation 
God accepted an atonement for the sins of Israel and continued 
to bless them, while later. He visited upon their tempters the 
punishment that their sins deserved. 

Among the members of the Church in Pergamos were those 
who held this doctrine of Balaam, and by their teaching and 
example they no doubt tempted their brethren to abandon their 
pilgrim character, to make peace with the world, and to defile 
their separation unto God by intermarriage with the heathen, 
and so they incurred the guilt of spiritual unchastity. 


The Doctrine of the Nicolattanes 


“So hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of the 
Nicolaitanes, which thing I hate” (ch. 2:15). 


When lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin, and sin, 
when it is finished, bringeth forth death (Jas. 1:15). So 
declared the apostle. In the very first period of the church, the 
sin of Nicolaitanism was conceived in the hearts of some pro- 
fessed Christians although at that time its deeds were hated by 
the Church. Now it brings forth fruit, for here in Pergamos 
it has become a doctrine,—something believed in and advocated 
by certain of the Church members at this later period. And 
apparently they are permitted to hold that doctrine, and even 
to advocate and propagate the sin without rebuke. Still later, 
in the history of the Church, this same sin having been finished 
brought forth death that was experienced in the Church in 
Sardis which had a name to live, but was dead. 

When Jesus Christ solemnly declares that He hates even the 
spirit of a certain thing, it follows that the putting of that 
thing into practice would be nothing short of an abomination 
in His sight. In the epistle to the Church in Ephesus, Christ 


PROPHECY CONCERNING THE VISIBLE CHURCH 117 


referred to the deeds of the Nicolaitanes, and again in His 
epistle to this Church in Pergamos He calls attention to the 
doctrine of the Nicolaitanes, and in each case He declares: 
“which thing I HATE.” 


Lords Over God’s Heritage 


Christ not only disapproves of the spirit that desires to lord 
it over the brethren, and as has been noted, such is the 
etymological meaning of Nicolaitanes, but He hates it, because 
it is the spirit of the world that lieth in the evil one, or in other 
words, it is the spirit of the Devil whose fall from his exalted 
rank, as a holy angel, resulted from just such a spirit of pride 
and self-exaltation and vain glorification (1 Tim. 3:6). Milton 
rightly interpreted that spirit when he represented Satan as 
saying : 

*Tis better to reign in Hell, 
Than to serve in Heaven. 


This is the very opposite of the Christ spirit. Jesus came to 
do the will of Him that sent Him; He pleased not Himself; He 
came not to be ministered unto, but to minister and to give His 
life a ransom for many. And it is His will that such shall ever 
be the spirit of His Church in which the chiefest of all must be 
the servant of all. This calls for a humble, rather than a proud 
spirit ; it requires a spirit of unselfish ministry rather than one 
that selfishly expects to be ministered unto; it is a spirit of love 
that considers others as better than self rather than a spirit that 
regards self as better, wiser, more honorable and more deserving 
of attention than others. 


The Form of Church Government of Less Importance Than 
the Spirit That Governs 

A particular form of Church government, whether Presby- 
terian or Congregational or Episcopal, is of relatively trifling 
importance compared with the spirit that undertakes to govern 
in a Church. What the Bible reveals regarding the mere form 
of government is so incomplete and indefinite that sincere 
Christians, one not less anxious than another to do the will of 
God, reach different conclusions, and may adopt without becom- 


118 IS THE KINGDOM AGE AT HAND? 


ing blameworthy any form of Church government which, in 
their judgment, is considered best adapted to promote the work 
for which the Church of Christ was instituted, and for keeping 
the spirit of unity in the bonds of peace. But be the form what 
it may, the all-important thing to observe is the great truth 
that “One is our Master, even Christ, ard all we, officers and 
laymen alike, are BRETHREN,” on the same plane of social 
equality, and entitled to the same respect and consideration 
however our gifts may differ. 

In the true Church of Jesus Christ, the rich and the poor 
meet together as brethren, for the Lord is the Maker of them 
all, unless it be of those among them who claim to be self- 
made. In that case such are probably the workmanship of 
Satan. Whether it be pope or bishop or priest or rector or 
plain pastor and minister or elder or deacon—the man of office 
in the Church of Jesus Christ who under the pretence of mag- 
nifying his office considers himself the superior of his brethren, 
especially the laity, thereby thinks of himself more highly than 
he ought to think; and if he puts such thinking into practice, 
and begins to lord it over God’s heritage, he is guilty of the 
thing that Christ HATES. 


The Call to Repentance and the Warning 


“Repent; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and 
will fight against them with the sword of My mouth” 
(chij2-16) 


Mark the difference made between “thee,” the Church itself, 
and “them,” or those in that Church who held these false 
doctrines. The angel or spirit of the Church in Pergamos, 
representing the majority in control, was still holding to the 
truth and practicing accordingly. It needed therefore to re- 
pent, not for holding the doctrines of Balaam and of the 
Nicolaitanes, but rather for permitting or tolerating such per- 
version of the truth by those in the fellowship of that Church, 
and subject to her discipline which evidently was not being 
exercised. If necessary, then, Christ would come and fight 
against them, the holders of false doctrines, with the sword of 
His mouth, equivalent to the sword of the Spirit which is the 
Word of God. But there would be no necessity even for such 


PROPHECY CONCERNING THE VISIBLE CHURCH 119 


a fight or conflict in the Church of Christ if those in control and 
responsible for conditions would be faithful and require all in 
the fellowship of the Church either to walk in the truth, or else 
to exercise the right of every honest man, and to separate him- 
self from a fellowship with which he was no longer in agree- 
ment even in respect to the fundamental doctrines held by the 
Church. 


The Promise to the Overcomer 


“He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith 
unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give ta 
eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, 
and in the stone a new name written, which no man 
knoweth saving he that receiveth it” (ch. 2:17). 


The Spirit is still dwelling in the midst of that Church. His 
promise to the overcomer is (1) the hidden manna which is 
Christ Himself Who only, as the true bread, is able to satisfy 
the longing soul, and to fill the hungry soul with goodness. 
That the promise means that the overcomer shall feed upon 
Christ is evident from Christ’s discourse on the true bread. It 
was delivered in the hearing of those who claimed, “Our fathers 
did eat manna in the wilderness: as it is written, He gave them 
bread from heaven to eat” (John 6: 31-36, 48-59). (2) The 
white stone signifies a place in the true Church, the Church in 
mystery, or the Bride of Christ. Everywhere in Scripture, the 
Rock is used symbolically of Christ Who is exalted above His 
fellows (Num. 20:8; 2 Sam. 22:2; Isa. 32:2; 1 Cor. 10:4; 
1 Pet. 2:8). After Peter’s noble confession of Jesus as “the 
Christ the Son of the living God” which great truth was a 
revelation given him from heaven, rather than from men, Jesus 
said unto him, ““Thou art Peter, and upon this Rock I will build 
My church” (Matt. 16: 15-18). Such, at least, is the English 
translation; but in the Greek Jesus said, Thou art Petros, 
meaning “a piece of the rock,’ or “a stone,” and upon this 
petra, meaning, “the Rock itself” I will build “My Church.” 
Thus it was not upon Peter but upon Himself than Whom there 
is no other foundation that Christ promised to build His Church. 
This was as Peter understood the message as he was very 
careful to declare (1 Pet. 2: 4-9). 


120 IS THE KINGDOM AGE AT HAND? 


If Protestants would only learn to distinguish between 
things that differ in the Scriptures, they would know that the 
keys of the Kingdom, promised to Peter on that same occasion, 
did not bestow upon that apostle any primacy in the Church. 
Thus by an intelligent use of the Scriptures they would deprive 
the papacy of one of its chief arguments in support of its 
system of pagan idolatry, and its blasphemous assumption that 
its pope is the head of the True Church. 

Here then the overcomer is to receive a white stone 
(psephos), or “a little pebble,’ as a token to identify him as 
a piece of the Stone, or Rock. And in the stone a new name, 
(THE BRIDE OF CHRIST) written, which no man knoweth saving 
he that receiveth it (Rom. 8:16, 17). Such then is the blessed 
promise to the overcomer who dwells in the world, even where 
Satan hath his seat, and who lives amidst conditions such as 
existed in the Church in Pergamos as described in the epistle. 


Third Period of Church History, A.D. 311-590 


And what has the Church historian to say regarding condi- 
tions that prevailed in the third period of the Church’s history? 
Dr. Schaff describes the period as “Christianity in union with 
the Graeco-Roman empire, and amid the storms of the great 
migration of nations. From Constantine the Great to Pope 
Gregory I, A.D. 311-590.” 

This it is declared was a period of reaction that followed the 
terrible reign of persecution that had secured a martyr’s crown 
for so great a multitude of Christians. Both the Church and 
the world were weary of persecution, and each sought to dis- 
cover some way to reconcile Christianity with heathenism, or 
at least to lessen the natural antagonism between them. Of 
course the historian merely notes the fact and offers no com- 
ment. But it can be added that such an effort was attempting 
the impossible as saith the Scriptures: 


“Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers; 
for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteous- 
ness? and what communion hath light with darkness? and 
what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath 
he that believeth with an infidel? and what agreement 
hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple 


PROPHECY CONCERNING THE VISIBLE CHURCH 121 


of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, 
and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall 
be My people. Wherefore come out from among them 
and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the un- 
clean thing; and I will receive you, and will be a Father 
unto you, and ye shall be My sons and daughters, saith 
the Lord Almighty” (2 Cor. 6: 14-18). 


However, it is claimed, the conversion of the emperor Con- 
stantine secured for the Church an acceptability and a popularity 
such as she had never before enjoyed in the eyes of the world, 
which thereupon began to manifest a desire and a willingness 
to become identified with the Church as members. To this 
courtship the Church showed but little aversion; rather she 
encouraged it by cultivating and exhibiting a more friendly 
disposition toward her heathen neighbors; and by being less 
severe and uncompromising in her condemnation and denuncia- 
tions of the evils to be found in and that were practiced by the 
world. Further, the Church was not so exacting in the require- 
ments imposed upon those who sought her fellowship, and thus 
made it less difficult to be received into her communion. 

The Church therefore greatly increased in numbers, power, 
wealth and influence; the number of mere professors also 
greatly multiplied, and as a result the Church became more 
worldly. The marriage also between Christians and non- 
professors was practiced without calling forth much opposition, 
and gradually the members of the Church, at least many of 
them, conformed to the customs of their heathen neighbors 
until it became difficult to discover in their conduct and con- 
versation anything that would distinguish such professors from 
the more respectable among the worldlings. 

It was during this very period also that many of the doc- 
trines held by the Church began to be questioned ; and the result- 
ant religious controversies led to their being modified to a 
greater or less extent in order to adapt them to the prevailing 
conviction of the Church of that day and age. Further, those 
in the fellowship of the Church who considered that a clear 
distinction should be drawn between the clergy and the laity; 
and who insisted that the former should have a standing and 
honor to exalt them above their brethren also increased in 


122 IS THE KINGDOM AGE AT HAND? 


number and in influence until they finally obtained their object. 
An order of the clergy was therefore established, which later 
became the foundation for the various orders of the episcopacy, 
and ultimately for the papacy. 

Such is a very brief summary of the conditions which the 
historian finds existing in this third period of the Church’s 
history. And who will fail to observe the close resemblance 
between the facts of history and the pen picture furnished by 
an inspired apostle in which are faithfully revealed the con- 
ditions discovered in the Church in Pergamos? The difference 
that deserves most to excite wonder and amazement is that 
while the former are facts which historians find and record, the 
latter are the predictions of a lonely prisoner on the isle of 
Patmos who five hundred years before the events occurred was 
commanded by the Glorified Son of Man “to write the things 
which shall be hereafter.” 


CHAPTER X 


THE PROPHECY CONCERNING THE VISIBLE 
CHURCH (Continued) 


FOURTH AND FIFTH EPISTLES 


The Church in Thyatira 


“And unto the angel of the Church in Thyatira write; 
These things saith the Son of God, Who hath His eyes 
like unto a flame of fire, and His feet are like fine brass; 
I know thy works, and charity, and service, and faith, 
and thy patience, and THy works; and the last to be more 
than the first” (ch. 2:18, 19). 


The Son of God deserves an attentive hearing especially 
when as here described His appearance is suggestive of right- 
eous indignation, and also the power to tread down His 
enemies. The spirit or angel of this Church is commended for 
several Christian virtues ; also for works and works: the former 
evidently works of faith, the latter presumably self-imposed 
works, and these last were more than the first. 


That Woman Jezebel 


“Notwithstanding I have a few things against thee, 
because thou sufferest that woman Jezebel, who calleth 
herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce My servants 
to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed unto 
idols. And I gave her space to repent of her fornica- 
tion; and she repented not. Behold I will cast her into a 
bed, and them that commit adultery with her into great 
tribulation, except they repent of their deeds. And I will 
kill her children with death; and all the churches shall 
know that I am He that searcheth the reins and hearts; 
and I will give unto every one of you according to your 
works” (ch. 2: 20-23). 

123 


124 IS THE KINGDOM AGE AT HAND? 


However, this Church is severely reproved because of that 
woman Jezebel. There are two Jezebels mentioned in the 
Bible: The oné was the daughter of Ethbaal, king of the Zido- 
nians, the heathen wife of Ahab. To please her, Ahab built an 
altar to Baal, and did more to provoke the Lord God of Israel 
to anger than all of the kings of Israel that were before him 
(I Kings 16:3-11). To destroy more completely true re- 
ligion, and to compel Israel to accept the religion of Baal with 
all its unchastities and beastialities, this woman Jezebel slew 
the Lord’s prophets. Her husband reigned but it was Jezebel 
who ruled with a high hand and who destroyed mercilessly 
those who stood in her way until she herself died a violent 
death. 

The other is that woman Jezebel, the false prophetess men- 
tioned in this epistle, and she might well have been the twin 
sister of the wife of Ahab. She also was a heathen with no 
respect for decency, and her chief desire was to betray God’s 
people into sin, and to turn them away from the living and true 
God that they might become worshipers of idols. No person 
of such a name has been identified with the history of this 
church or of this period. But the name Jezebel means “unmar- 
ried,” and it is a fitting symbol of any unchaste woman, or 
harlot, such as the teachings and works of that woman Jezebel 
prove her to have been. Hence she and her not less guilty 
partners were threatened with great tribulation except they 
repented of their deeds; and her children also were to be killed 
with death. Thus all the churches would know that the Son 
of God is the Searcher of hearts, and that He will give unto 
every one according to their works. 

“But unto you I say, and unto the rest in Thyatira, 
as many as have not this doctrine, and who have not 
known the depths of Satan, as they speak; I will put upon 
you none other burden. But that which ye have already 
hold fast till I come. And he that overcometh, and 
keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power 
over the nations: And he shall rule them with a rod of 
iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to 
pieces: even as I received of My Father. And I will 
give him the morning star. He that hath an ear, let him 
hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches” (ch. 
2: 24-29). 


PROPHECY CONCERNING THE VISIBLE CHURCH 125 


In the fellowship of the Church in Thyatira not everyone 
had been seduced by the sorceries of that lewd woman and false 
prophetess. There was a large company which was represented 
by the angel or spirit of that church that held themselves aloof 
from the teachings or doctrines of that Jezebel; hence they 
had not known the depths of Satan. Their opposition and 
resistance to the seductive influences of Jezebel had probably 
aroused her hatred and called forth her fury against them, 
and thus they had suffered from her malignity about all that 
it was possible for flesh to endure. No other burden therefore 
was to be laid upon such, but they are exhorted by Christ to 
hold fast until His return. 

The overcomer is required to keep Christ’s works unto the 
end. Thus “My works” (v. 26), are placed in opposition to 
“thy works” (v. 19). It is evident that this Church organiza- 
tion had its own works that were other and different from 
Christ’s works, and it is further evident that the works of this 
organization were regarded as more important than Christ’s 
works ; hence there were more of them (v.19). But it is Christ’s 
works that the overcomer is to keep unto the end, and this is the 
only epistle in which there is found this added requirement of 
the overcomer, who if successful is promised the privilege of 
reigning with Christ (Ps. 2:9), over the nations, and he is 
also to receive the morning star which is symbolic of Christ 
Himself (Rev. 22:16). In other words, as the Bridegroom 
Christ will give Himself unto His Bride which is the True 
Church. The promises, therefore, made to the overcomer in 
this Church are that among the redeemed he will be a member 
of the Bride class, and as a joint-heir with Christ he will be 
permitted to share not only in the inheritance, but also in the 
administration of the affairs of the Kingdom when it is estab- 
lished on the earth. 


The Candlestick Removed Out of His Place 

For the first time, also, in these epistles the exhortation, “He 
that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the 
churches,” follows the promise to the overcomer, The reason 
is evident ; in the message to the Ephesian Church the warning 


126 IS THE KINGDOM AGE AT HAND? 


is given, “I will remove thy candlestick out of His place, except 
thou repent” (v. 5). These several churches were themselves 
candlesticks (ch. 1:20), to give the light of truth to the world. 
But they could shed forth light only as they received light from 
the Holy Spirit, Who therefore is symbolized here as the 
candlestick of these churches, or the light and truth Giver. 
Ephesus failed to heed the divine warning; she did not repent. 
Hence the sin of giving to Christ something less than supreme 
love continued in the Church to influence and to determine the 
conduct of her members. Thus in Smyrna some of the mem- 
bers represented the synagogue of Satan; while in Pergamos 
the many were in the world where Satan had his seat, and they 
were content to depend on an arm of flesh, the civil power, for 
their protection and safety. Now in Thyatira the world, hav- 
ing been given the opportunity, had taken possession of the 
Church, and therefore the unheeded warning became a reality 
in the experience of the Visible Church of that period,—the 
Candlestick was removed out of His place. Hence no longer 
dwelling in the midst of the Church, the Holy Spirit now 
occupies a place that suggests that He is about to withdraw 
altogether from the fellowship of the Church unless she repents 
of her sins. However, far from repenting, Thyatira suffers 
in her fellowship that woman Jezebel the false prophetess. 
And thus, like leaven, sin spreads until the whole becomes 
leaven. The sin which had not been put away at Ephesus, is 
observed to be at work in each of the other churches, and 
becomes more and more easily discerned. In Smyrna there is 
the blasphemy of pretenders who are nothing less than a syna- 
gogue of Satan; in Pergamos there are those who hold the 
doctrines of Balaam and of the Nicolaitanes, who live where 
Satan’s seat is, and put their confidence in an arm of flesh; 
and now in Thyatira the Church suffers that woman Jezebel 
to teach and to seduce God’s servants to worship idols, and 
continues that woman in her communion even though she re- 
fused to repent, and persisted in the practice of her sorceries. 
What wonder then, if the Holy Spirit being thus dishonored, 
should serve notice that He was ready to depart from such 
company! 


PROPHECY CONCERNING THE VISIBLE CHURCH 127 


The Use of Sacred Numbers Again to Be Noted 

Then, it should not be overlooked, that this change occurs 
after the third epistle, and continues through the next four 
epistles. Three is the number that stands for the Trinity or 
for a divine work; four is the number that stands for the 
earth; and seven, the sum of three plus four, stands for dispen- 
sational fulness and completion. A careful study of these 
seven epistles reveals that in each Church, or in each period 
of the One Visible Church, there is present both the good and 
the evil, both the true followers of Christ and also the mere 
professors. But only in the first three epistles do the true 
disciples appear to predominate in these churches; hence the 
Spirit dwells in their midst. In the last four epistles the 
mere nominal disciples are in control, and so the Spirit, being 
dishonored, no longer dwells in the midst of a worldly Church, 
and serves warning that He will withdraw altogether unless 
there be repentance and reformation. 


Fourth Period of Church History. A.D. 590-1294. 

Having considered what the epistle to the Church in Thyatira 
reveals, we turn again to the Church historians to learn the 
conditions which they found and record as having existed 
during this fourth period. Dr. Schaff treats this as two 
periods and deals with the subjects of “Christianity planted 
among the nations, and the complete development and ascend- 
ency of the papal hierarchy. From Pope Gregory I to Boni- 
face XIII, A.D. 590-1294.” 

The great migration of nations, discussed by historians in 
the previous period, had not only injuriously affected the 
Church, but had also threatened to destroy the civilization of 
that day and to reduce all society to a state of barbarism. That 
the barbarians did not succeed in reducing all society to their 
level was due in large measure to the work of pious monks 
who were members of the various religious orders that had 
sprung up within the Church. These monks preserved much 
of the literature of that day from wanton destruction by hiding 
it away in their cloisters. They also kept learning alive, al- 
though for the greater part it was limited chiefly to the members 
of these various orders. They also are given well deserved 


128 IS THE KINGDOM AGE AT HAND? 


credit for the work they accomplished in spreading the gospel 
among the barbarians often at the risk of their lives. 

However, according to Dr. Schaff, that same period witnessed 
“the end of APOSTOLIC CHRISTIANITY, and the begin- 
ning of medieval Catholicism.” The END of Apostolic Christ- 
ianity! One may be excused, therefore, if he inquires, What 
has become of “the twin parables of the Mustard Seed and the 
Leaven?” The spirit of Nicolaitanism that insisted on the 
establishment of various orders of priests or clergy, had tri- 
umphed. Hence in the Church the brethren of the One Master 
had been divided into groups of which one group, the clergy, 
was assumed to be in every respect the superior in importance 
and in dignity to the other group, the laity, or the common 
people. Out of the spirit of that first group developed the 
various orders of priests and the bishop. Then finally the Pope 
himself emerged and the Church of the papacy with his satani¢ 
majesty at its head became the successor in position, power 
and influence of what formerly had been the Church of Jesus 
Christ. All these developments had their beginning in the 
third period. The fourth period opens with Pope Gregory I 
already established as head of the papal Church, and with 
medieval Catholicism substituted for Apostolic Christianity. 

It would be difficult to imagine any greater sin of which 
the Church could have been guilty than the sin of making some 
man, other than the Man Christ Jesus, head of the Church, 
and the sin also of determining what should be the doctrines 
and practices of the Church, agreeable to the convictions of a 
majority of the professed Christians of that day, rather than 
according to the Word and will of God. However, the results 
of such sins at the beginning were comparatively insignificant 
and harmless; but later, the enormity of the evil was plainly 
evidenced, and the results were horrible almost beyond the 
power of language to describe. 


The Papal Church at the Height of Its Power 

The departure of the Church of the Papacy from the teach- 
ings of Christ and of His inspired apostles was a very gradual 
process, and at the beginning of the fourth period of Church 
history much of the pure gospel was retained and preached 


PROPHECY CONCERNING THE VISIBLE CHURCH 129 


earnestly and faithfully by priests and monks. The latter es- 
pecially were tireless in their efforts to spread the gospel. 
Often at the risk of life they planted the seeds of truth among 
the various nations, and succeeded in winning great numbers 
of the heathen to profess their faith in Christ, and to unite 
with the Church of the Papacy. The historians make special 
mention of the zeal and earnestness of the monks, who were 
in the various Church orders, in proclaiming the gospel among 
the nations of earth during most of this fourth period. 

And during this same period they also describe the complete 
development and ascendency of the papal hierarchy with the 
gradual change of doctrines, the corruption of worship, and the 
extension of the practice of idolatry. And side by side with 
this departure from the true faith went the corruption of 
morals and the practice of unmentionable wickedness. Priests 
and nuns alike were shamelessly immoral; they professed the 
virtue of celibates (the unmarried), and practiced after the 
manner of Jezebel, the false prophetess, who taught and 
seduced God’s servants to commit fornication and to eat things 
sacrificed unto idols. Those who will take time to read for 
themselves Schaff’s History of the Christian Church in the 
periods that record the rise of the Papacy to its position of 
power will be well repaid, and it is hardly possible that intelli- 
gent readers of said history, or of any other Church history, 
will fail to recognize the facts which history supplies as a most 
complete fulfilment of the conditions described in the epistle 
to the Church in Thyatira. 


Dean Trench on the Epistles to the Seven Churches 

In his work on the epistles to the seven churches, Dean 
Trench, while he rejects and argues at great length against 
accepting these epistles as a prophetic forecast of the history 
of the One Visible Church of Christ during this age, never- 
theless admits that the conditions described in the churches in 
Smyrna and in Thyatira answer fully and completely to the 
events of history that have been recorded. He further admits 
that these historic events transpired at the exact time to meet 
the requirements if these epistles were prophetic. However, 
he regards these facts as merely remarkable coincidents rather 


130 IS THE KINGDOM AGE AT HAND? 


than as proof of the prophetic character of these letters to 
the seven churches. But other not less eminent Christian 
scholars have seen in the events of history already recorded the 
complete and marvelous fulfilment of the conditions described 
in all of the first six of these epistles ; hence they believe them to 
be prophetic and they look confidently for the not less literal 
fulfilment, in due time, of the seventh and last epistle. 

Since the scholars do not agree among themselves, Christians 
generally are at liberty to take either side of the question, 
and to decide according to their own judgment, as to which side 
is the nearer to the truth. But it will be well for such to doa 
little reading of Church history for themselves, comparing the 
facts of history with what is written in these epistles; thus 
they will be better able to reach an intelligent decision, and 
at the same time they will avoid the danger of having their 
understanding darkened and their judgment unduly influenced 
by the controversial arguments of scholarly opponents. 


The Church in Sardis 
The fifth epistle is sent to the Church in Sardis. 


“And unto the angel of the Church in Sardis write; 
These things saith He that hath the seven Spirits of God, 
and the seven stars; I know thy works, that thou hast a 
name that thou livest, and art dead. Be watchful, and 
strengthen the things that remain, that are ready to die: 
for I have not found thy works perfect before God. Re- 
member therefore how thou hast received and heard, and 
hold fast and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, 
I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know 
what hour I will come upon thee” (ch. 3: 1-3). 


The seven spirits describe the One Holy Spirit in the pleni- 
tude of His power and sufficiency for His dispensational work. 
These seven spirits are mentioned as before the throne of God 
(ch. 1:4); they are not mentioned in the inspired pen por- 
traiture of the Glorified Son of Man, but here Christ claims to 
have them, or the One Holy Spirit Whom Jesus sent to convict 
the world of sin, of righteousness and of judgment to come, 
and also to comfort His people, to be their Teacher and to 
lead them into all truth. The seven stars are the spirits of 


PROPHECY CONCERNING THE VISIBLE CHURCH 131 


the several churches, or as personified, their angels. These 
Christ has also in his power and they will either be rewarded 
or punished according as their works appear. The spirit of 
the Church in Sardis was dead which reveals that the Holy 
Spirit, Whose indwelling assures life to every true Church as a 
spiritual organization, had entirely departed from the represen- 
tative majority of that Church which therefore had a name to 
live, but which nevertheless was merely a dead Church. If it be 
understood and recognized that the Church in Sardis is one 
and the same organization, only at a later period of her history, 
as the Church in Thyatira which suffered the presence and per- 
mitted the abominable works of that woman Jezebel, then it 
will be less surprising to learn that the Spirit had withdrawn 
and that the Church consequently was dead. 

Still, even in such a Church there were some things that yet 
remained and that were worth preserving. But in such a mass 
of festering corruption, false doctrines, and idolatrous prac- 
tices, even the worth while things that remained were ready 
to die. Hence that Church is exhorted to be watchful and she 
is solemnly warned that her works have not been found perfect 
before God. 

It is the teaching of the papacy that man is justified by his 
own works, and it is claimed that some members of that Church 
who have been sainted have piled up works of righteousness 
far beyond their own needs. And the priests pretend that at 
a price they can secure the merits of these works for the 
benefit of those who have no works of righteousness of their 
own, but it is always provided that these less fortunate ones 
have the money to pay for obtaining these merits. Such works, 
however, are not of a character to help any one; for not even 
the best of them are perfect before God. Christ therefore 
desired this Church to remember the faith, or teaching, received 
and heard from inspired apostles and to hold it fast. At the 
same time this Church had great need to repent of having ac- 
cepted other doctrines in exchange for the true faith. Failure 
to watch her course, and to amend her conduct was dangerous 
because however she might take comfort to herself in the 
thought of peace and safety, still sudden destruction would 
overtake her, and she would then be aroused from her dream 


132 IS THE KINGDOM AGE AT HAND? 


of security when it was too late to escape the consequences 
of her folly. 


A Few Worthy Names in Sardis 


Such was the condition of that Church in general, but among 
her members a few honorable exceptions were found: 


“Thou hast a few names even in Sardis which have not 
defiled their garments; and they shall walk with Me in 
white: for they are worthy” (ch. 3:4). 


Probably it was the presence of these comparatively few 
names of Christians in that dead Church that explains and 
accounts for the worth while things that yet remained, but 
that needed to be strengthened because they were ready to 
die. It would be next to impossible even for a true Christian 
to live in the fellowship of spiritually dead professors and not 
to suffer more or less contamination, and this would keep one 
back in his own spiritual growth and development. But the 
loving and gracious Saviour does not require the impossible 
from any one; He does not expect as much from babes as 
from the more mature, nor as much from the less gifted as from 
the more gifted. Hence, while the few names in Sardis were 
not perfect, still they are commended for not having defiled 
their garments. This is merely a recognition of evil from 
which they had refrained rather than of good deeds they had 
performed, nevertheless they shall not lose their reward, but are 
counted worthy to walk with Christ. 


“He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white 
raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book 
of life, but I will confess his name before My Father, 
and before His angels. He that hath an ear, let him hear 
what the Spirit saith unto the churches” (ch. 3:5, 6). 


The overcomer is assured white raiment, or the righteous- 
ness of saints; also that his name shall remain in the book 
of life, and so he will not be hurt of the second death. Before 
the Father and His angels‘his name will be confessed and thus 
he will share in the reward of glory. Here then is the picture 
of a Church that is spiritually dead and norally corrupt. But 


PROPHECY CONCERNING THE VISIBLE CHURCH 133 


remaining in her fellowship there are a few who have not 
partaken of the deeds of the many or shared in their evil 
doings ; therefore they will be permitted to escape the judgments 
threatened against all the workers: of iniquity, and be accounted 
worthy to walk with Christ. 


The Fifth Period of Church History. A.D. 1294-1648. 

In this period, which Dr. Schaff treats as two epochs, he 
deals with the subject of “Christianity under the decay of 
medieval Catholicism; the preparation for and also the evangeli- 
cal Reformation, and the Roman Catholic reaction. From 
Boniface VIII to the treaty of Westphalia, A.D. 1294-1648.” 

According to the historians the Church of the papacy con- 
tinued to increase in the number of her members; also in her 
wealth and influence until she became the most powerful in- 
stitution on the continent of Europe. Even the nations meekly 
submitted to her despotic control, and she was abie to crown 
and uncrown kings at her pleasure. So absolute was her su- 
premacy that the emperor, Henry IV of Germany who had 
offended the Pope, was required to wait three days bare- 
footed standing in the snow outside the door of the castle of 
Canossa, before he could obtain an audience, make amends for 
his disregard of the Pope’s authority, and once again secure the 
right to the throne from which he had been deposed. 

Keeping step with this rise to power and authority corruption 
also increased rapidly in the papal Church, which was ever at 
the service of the highest bidder. That Church even sold in- 
dulgences that for a price permitted one to commit any sin or 
crime he desired with the assurance that no guilt would be 
attached to the same. Popes, priests, nuns and people generally 
led immoral and licentious lives to a degree that rivaled the sins 
of Sodom and Gomorrah, 

In the midst of such a godless Church, reformatory move- 
ments were inaugurated by the Waldenses, Wycliff, Huss and 
others. The Papacy replied to such attempts at reformation 
by establishing the Inquisition, and by arresting, persecuting 
and putting to death those suspected of taking part in such 
movements. After a time this wickedness and abuse of power 
caused the Church to lose her grip upon the multitudes; then 


134 IS THE KINGDOM AGE AT HAND? 


nations, once submissive to the tyranny of the Church, began 
to throw off the yoke of despotism. The decay of medieval 
Catholicism rapidly advanced; all attempts at reform failed; 
the Papal Church was in a most corrupt and superstitious con- 
dition when Luther arose and inaugurated the Reformation in 
Germany. His lead was followed by Zwingli and Calvin in 
Switzerland; and shortly thereafter the Reformation spread 
to England also. The great power and influence of the Church 
of the papacy had not entirely departed but were considerably 
diminished, and to the same degree have never since been 
regained. 

As a means to offset the aggression of Protestantism, the 
Jesuits were organized and established. And the twin prin- 
ciples of that order, namely, “the end justifies the means,” and 
“~ “Genorance is the mother of devotion,’ have ever since very 
largely determined the policy and conduct of that Church, 
which apparently is incapable of any true reform under the 
leadership of the hierarchy with the Jesuits, for the greater 
part of the time, continuing as the power behind the throne of 
the popes. 


The False Docirines of the Papacy Enslave Many 

There are no doubt still in the membership of that Church 
many sincere believers in Christ as their chief hope of salvation, 
but for the most part her adherents are mere idolaters who are 
in complete subjection to the priesthood. This result is secured 
by the false doctrines of purgatory and the mass, and by the 
power claimed by the priests to be able to forgive sins which 
they profess to do but only for a price to be paid to them. 
And for a further money consideration they pretend to be 
able to lessen the degree and to shorten the period of the 
suffering of those who have passed from this life into purga- 
tory. This is a place for which there is no Scripture, and 
which is pure invention, as also is the professed power to 
work miracles. And the powers claimed for the priesthood are 
seldom or never exercised unless the priests are well paid for 
their services. 

In brief, then, these are the conditions that existed during 
this period as the facts are found and recorded by the different 


PROPHECY CONCERNING THE VISIBLE CHURCH 135 


Church historians. The papal Church was morally corrupt and 
spiritually dead. And yet among her members were those 
whom Christ accepted as true Christians. Such as these had 
inaugurated at different times reform movements, but without 
success. At length those who could no longer endure to be 
identified with such gross wickedness, superstition and idolatry 
withdrew from that fellowship and organized the Church of the 
Protestant Reformation. 


CHAPTER XI 


THE PROPHECY CONCERNING THE VISIBLE 
CHURCH (Concluded) 


THE SIXTH AND SEVENTH EPISTLES 


The Church in Philadelphia 


“And to the angel of the Church in Philadelphia write; 
These things saith He that is holy, He that is true, He 
that hath the key of David, He that openeth, and no 
man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth; I know 
thy works: behold, I have set before thee an open door, 
and no man can shut it: for thou hast a little strength, 
and hast kept My word, and hast not denied My name. 
Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, 
which say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie; behold, 
I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, 
and to know that I have loved thee” (ch. 3:7-9). 


The description given of Christ in the fifth epistle, as already 
noted, and that here given, and that found also in the last 
epistle mark them as differing from the four former epistles 
in this respect, namely: In the first four epistles the Speaker 
describes Himself by the exclusive use of expressions which 
John employs when he records the vision he had received of 
the Glorified Son of Man (Rev. 1:13-18), while in the last 
three epistles the Speaker describes Himseif by the use of 
other and different expressions. 


A Significant Departure from the Rule 

This is no mere accident. There is some meaning in this 
change, and it is a fair inference, to say the least, that Christ’s 
message, partly in the fifth epistle and entirely in the last two 
epistles is meant for an organization of Christians that is 
wholly distinct and separate from the Church addressed in the 
first four epistles, and in part in the fifth epistle. The Visible 

136 


PROPHECY CONCERNING THE VISIBLE CHURCH 137 


Church as founded by Christ and His apostles is charged with 
having left her first love; then second, with having in her fel- 
lowship false professors who were of the synagogue of Satan; 
third, with dwelling in the world, even where Satan’s seat is, 
and with admitting to fellowship those who held false doctrines, 
especially the doctrine of the Nicolaitanes which Christ hated ; 
fourth, with opening her door to admit the entrance of that 
woman Jezebel, the false prophetess and harlot who was per- 
mitted to teach her false doctrines within the Church, and who 
with her paramours was allowed to take control of the Church 
as a visible organization. Thus, as any thing other than a sur- 
prising result, that Church is, fifth, declared to be dead, even 
though she had a name to live. In each of these epistles the 
sin is pointed out, the Church is called upon to repent and 
duly warned of the consequences if she failed to make her 
doings right. However, instead of putting away her sin the 
Church persisted in her evil way and grew worse and worse 
until as a spiritual organization Christ pronounced her DEAD. 


The Seed of the Reformed Church 


But in the midst of this dead Church, the church of the 
Papacy, there were a few whom Christ mentioned, not as being 
members of that spiritually dead organization, but rather as “a 
few names” (v. 4). Such were recognized as worthy to walk 
with Christ, but nothing more is said of them in that fifth 
epistle. It seems evident that the few names represented 
the Reformers who later separated themselves entirely from 
the Papal Church; and probably for them, the first departure 
from the rule occurred when the Speaker announced Himself 
as “He that hath the seven spirits of God” (Rev. 1:43; 3:1). 
This would encourage those who trusted in Christ to understand 
that they should not lack for the gift and blessing of the Holy 
Spirit even though they were identified with a spiritually dead 
organization. And the announcement of the fact that Christ 
had the seven spirits, or the Holy Spirit in dispensational ful- 
ness, is the first departure from the description John gives of 
the glorified Son of Man. The other expression, “He hath 
the seven stars,” is in John’s description of The Christ glori- 
fied, and it served as a reminder not only to the unfaithful and 


138 IS THE KINGDOM AGE AT HAND? 


dead Church of the papacy that her angel, or spirit, was in 
Christ’s hand, and in due time would be required to answer to 
Him, but it was also a similar warning given to the seed of the 
new organization,—the Church of the Protestant Reformation. 


The Church of the Protestant Reformation 

In the sixth epistle, therefore, Sardis, the dead Church and 
her members, being wholly rejected by Christ, are referred to 
as “the synagogue of Satan.’ And it is evidently to a new 
Church organization in Philadelphia, the Church of brotherly 
love, that this message is sent. The Speaker reminds this 
Church that beyond all that He appears to be in the vision John 
received of Him, He also is holy, and so will not endure sin in 
His Church; further, He is true, as the former Visible Church 
which had become the synagogue of Satan demonstrated, be- 
cause it was now rejected by Him. Christ also assures and 
encourages this new organization which has kept His word, 
and has not denied His name, that although it has but little 
strength, and although it is opposed by the synagogue of Satan, 
still He has the key of David, or the power and authority of 
the Kingdom, and the right was His also either to open or to 
shut the door of opportunity, privilege and service. Hence no 
man, not even the head of the synagogue of Satan, had either 
the power or the authority to change His decision. 

If this understanding of the Scriptures be correct it shows 
that the Church of the Protestant Reformation was not only 
predicted to be established in due time, but also that it would 
be recognized by Christ as His Church; that to it His message 
was addressed, and thus it becomes the duly acknowledged and 
only rightful successor of the Church founded by Christ and 
nurtured by His apostles, which organization had degenerated 
into the synagogue of Satan, and which therefore Christ had 
rejected. 


Sacred Numbers Confirm the Explanation as True 

Here again sacred numbers would seem to confirm the cor- 
rectness of this explanation for the change, or for the departure 
from the rule. The number five stands for human incomplete- 
ness and insufficiency. And the first five epistles are sent to a 


PROPHECY CONCERNING THE VISIBLE CHURCH 139 


Church which finally substitutes her works, which are not found 
perfect before God, for the perfect work of Christ; hence that 
Church was dead, even though she still had a name to live. And 
in the sixth epistle, six being the number of evil, and of Satan, 
that Church is branded by Christ Himself as “the synagogue 
of Satan.” While the last two epistles, two representing the 
Covenant between the Father and His Son, are sent to the duly 
recognized successor of the Church which Christ had rejected. 
Thus is fulfilled the promise made in that Covenant: “A seed 
shall serve Him; it shall be accounted to the Lord for a genera- 
tion (people, stock or race). They shall come, and shall de- 
clare His righteousness unto a people that shall be born, that 
He hath done this (Ps. 22:30, 31: Isa. 53:10). 

And to this new organization Christ provides the open door 
of opportunity for service and privilege. The former organi- 
zation had likewise enjoyed her opportunity but had failed mis- 
erably to improve it. Now to the Church in Philadelphia the 
opportunity is given, and it is for herself to decide the issue; 
for none can deprive her of this privilege which her Lord 
has granted unto her. That open door can mean nothing less 
than the opportunity to fulfil the mission for which the Church 
was instituted—the mission to preach the gospel unto all na- 
tions, and to be Christ’s witness everywhere and among all 
people. 

As an organization, the synagogue of Satan, or Rome Papal, 
will perish miserably. But many of those who are in her mem- 
bership, and who represent her as did the false professors in 
the Church in Smyrna, will become true converts to Christ. 
And it is such as these who in due time will come and worship 
before the feet of the true Church. The complete fulfilment 
of that promise awaits the coming of the Kingdom age when 
the True Church will be made manifest as the Bride of Christ, 
and share with Him the honors and glories of the Kingdom. 


“Because thou hast kept the word of My patience, I 
also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which 
shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell 
upon the earth. Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast 
which thou hast, that no man take thy crown. Him that 
overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, 


140 IS THE KINGDOM AGE AT HAND? 


and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the 
name of My God, and the name of the city of My God, 
which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of 
heaven from My God; and I will write upon him My new 
name. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit 
saith unto the churches” (ch. 3: Io-13). 


The hour of temptation has reference to the great tribulation, 
or to the days of the vengeance of our God that will be visited 
upon earth dwellers, and true Christians are promised that they 
will be permitted to escape the terrible judgments that will be 
sent at that time upon all evil doers who dwell upon the earth. 


The Reformed Church Duly Warned 


However, it appears necessary that those in the new Church 
organization, even though they are true believers, should be 
duly warned and exhorted. They must hold fast to what they 
have, and not permit any man to take their crown. Man was 
not able to take from that Church her God given opportunity ; 
for that depended on Christ alone. But man is able to take 
the victor’s crown from the Church; for the possession of 
that crown depends on herself, on how near she walks to 
Christ, and on how faithfully she engages in His service. 

Since the temple of God is a spiritual organization consist- 
ing of all true believers, a pillar in that temple is one who 
occupies a position of importance and leadership. That part 
of the promise to the overcomer is for present fulfilment, and 
the honor will be permanent,—he shall go no more out. To 
write upon him the name of God means to make him a partaker 
of the divine nature. And as the city of God, new Jerusalem, 
is a symbol of the glorified Church of the redeemed, the promise 
means that the overcomer shall have a place in, and be a part 
of the True Church, or the Church in mystery, whose new name 
will be “The Bride, the Lamb’s Wife.” 

Here then are the conditions in, and the promises given to 
the Church in Philadelphia. There is here a newly organized 
Church, with but little strength, before which is set an open 
door which no man can shut. She is exposed to many dangers 
and temptations because of false professors who are of the 
synagogue of Satan, and who possess the spirit of persecutors 


PROPHECY CONCERNING THE VISIBLE CHURCH 141 


as did like persons in Smyrna; hence she needs the exhortation 
to hold fast lest she lose her crown. Those described as of 
the synagogue of Satan were ever persecutors of true Chris- 
tians; their teachings and example probably had prepared the 
way for the departure from the faith once for all delivered unto 
the saints, and also for the organization of the Church of the 
papacy with her false doctrines, her idolatrous practices and her 
shameful impurities in which her members generally, including 
the hierarchy and even the popes, indulged until to read the 
record is sufficient to put decency to the blush. 


The Sixth Period of Church History. A. D. 1648-1880. 

The eighth and part of his ninth period of Church History, 
Dr. Schaff defines as “The Age of polemic orthodoxy and ex- 
clusive confessionalism with the spread of infidelity, and the 
revival of Christianity in Europe and America, with missionary 
efforts encircling the globe.” Dr. Schaff’s eighth and ninth 
epochs cover what is believed to be the sixth period, and it 
includes the time when infidelity appeared within the Protestant 
Church under the guise of liberalism and modernism, and when 
there followed the repudiation, by several theological professors 
and pulpiteers, of many of the foundation truths of Christianity. 
This period therefore extends from the treaty of Westphalia to 
the first appearance of German rationalism within the Protestant 
Church, A. D. 1648-1880. 

The historian records, that after the Reformed Church had 
secured a firm footing in the several countries of Europe and 
America, instead of uniting in brotherly love, and instead 
of testifying against the corruptions, the doctrinal errors, and 
the idolatrous and licentious practices of the Roman Catholic 
Church and the hierarchy, and instead of uniting to preach the 
pure gospel which was held in common, the Church of the 
Reformation was divided into little groups. And the several 
groups, instead of all professing to be of Christ, claimed rather 
to be of Luther, or of Calvin or of Zwingli or of Huss or of 
Knox, and not one of these several groups had much strength 
compared with what they might have possessed had they all 
been united. 


142 IS THE KINGDOM AGE AT HAND? 
Schism in the Reformed Church 


On all the great essential truths, in so far as these had been 
recovered by the Protestant Church of that day from the faith- 
ful study of the Bible, and as said truth had been cherished 
by the Apostolic Church, the Reformed Church was united. 
She was faithful also in proclaiming the same and in testifying 
against the false doctrines and evil practices of the papal 
church. But unfortunately the Reformers allowed themselves 
to become hopelessly divided over certain words of doctrines. 
The great importance of the truth held in common was not so 
much considered, while the importance of their differences was 
greatly magnified. As a result much precious time was worse 
than wasted for it was employed in carrying on theological dis- 
putes and in striving about words to no profit, which only 
engendered more strife and which caused the Reformers to 
assume an attitude of bitterness and even of hatred toward each 
other. 


The Open Door Neglected 


Thus precious time was lost and the open door was neglected 
while the Protestants fought the Catholics, and the Catholics 
fought the Protestants ; The Calvinists quarreled with the Luth- 
erans, with the Armenians, and with other Protestant sects 
which all in turn quarrel with the Calvinists and with each 
other, to their own harm and to the lasting reproach of Protes- 
tant Christianity. This bitter strife continued until the end of 
the Thirty Years War, which was confined to the Continent, 
and ended with the signing of the treaty of Westphalia which 
established the territorial boundaries of the Protestant and 
Catholic nations. Even then the disputes between Protestants 
concerning questions of doctrines and of Church policy, did not 
cease, but were carried on with unabated zeal, and caused much 
feeling to be engendered between brethren, while the great 
world of lost and perishing humanity, to which Christ commis- 
sioned His Church to go and preach the gospel, was almost 
wholly neglected. 


PROPHECY CONCERNING THE VISIBLE CHURCH 143 
The Foundation of Faith Threatened by Deism and Rationalism 


As a result the general condition of the people was irreli- 
gious. Deism began to prevail to an alarming extent in Eng- 
land under the leadership of Hobbes, Shaftesbury, Tindal, 
Bolingbroke, Hume and Gibbon. Then followed German 
rationalism, based on the teachings of Wolfe and Semler, which 
quickly spread with the fury of a consuming flame, and for a 
time threatened the very foundations of the Protestant Chris- 
tian Church. However, such attacks from without on the com- 
mon faith served to draw the Protestant sects to unite for its 
defense, and standing shoulder to shoulder with each other in 
contending for the faith and in resisting the attacks of deism, 
rationalism and infidelity, the Reformers gradually cultivated 
a respect for each other, and after a while seem to have made 
the discovery that they were forbidden to strive about words 
to no profit and were commanded to love one another. 


Misstonary Efforis Circling the Globe 

A revival of true Christianity followed both in Europe and 
in America. And calling to remembrance the Great Commis- 
sion which required the gospel to be preached to every nation, 
the eyes of the Reformed Church were opened about the begin- 
ning of the eighteenth century, and she beheld the opportunity 
for missionary activity that challenged her best endeavors. 
For this missionary work the door was open before the Church, 
and it has ever since remained opened. 

While the Church has sadly neglected to improve all the 
splendid opportunities which that open door afforded, still 
it remains open and no man can shut it. The Church entered 
that door then; and it was not long until in every land the 
heralds of the Cross of Jesus Christ were proclaiming the 
unsearchable riches of His grace among the nations. And the 
True Church has ever since continued to carry on that mission- 
ary work with greater or less zeal and fidelity. 


The Reformed Church Has Grown Great and Influential 


Not only the united efforts required for this common task 
set before the Church of evangelizing the world; but also the 


144 IS THE KINGDOM AGE AT HAND? 


Evangelical Alliance further helped to promote the unity of 
orthodox Christians in all parts of the world, and to a cor- 
responding degree the victory over skepticism. Thus notwith- 
standing the many divisions in the body of Christ which still 
continue, and which have made impossible among Protestant 
Christians the unity for which the Master prayed, nonetheless 
the Church of the Reformation has greatly increased in num- 
bers, in riches, in power and in influence. But with this ma- 
terial growth and development the Church’s zeal for truth, 
and for carrying on her works of faith and labors of love 
has not always kept pace, but has lagged noticeably behind on 
many occasions. 


Desire for World’s Approval 


The Church has shown less concern for her growth in grace 
and in her knowledge of Christ Jesus, than she has shown 
the desire to secure a position of preéminence and of com- 
manding influence in the sight of the great and wise men of 
the world. This attitude encouraged the revival of German 
rationalism, which interested itself in the sphere of Biblical 
criticism, and which left its deepest mark on subsequent theo- 
logical development. However, the rationalists are far from 
being at agreement among themselves; they still differ regard- 
ing the correct method to be employed in the study of the Bible, 
and also in the conclusions reached concerning its teachings, 
and as regards, also, how much or how little of its teach- 
ings can be most surely believed. Thus many of the conten- 
tions of self-confident and aggressive rationalism have long 
since mutually destroyed each other. But the later or newer 
criticism of this rationalistic sort, as one writer states it, 
“without utterly denying or attempting to overthrow the foun- 
dations of religion, makes such concessions to the enemy as 
tend to subvert the faith; it admits the thin edge of a wedge 
that pressed home will rend and destroy the fabric.’ This 
school of rationalists “rely more or less exclusively and blame- 
worthily, on mere human reason, instead of simply, frankly 
and fully accepting the dicta of the divine word.” 


PROPHECY CONCERNING THE VISIBLE CHURCH 145 


The Exaltation of the Reason 


This is the more dangerous method, since no objection can 
be raised against the use of human reason in the study of the 
Bible. The error lies in the exclusive use of mere hurnan rea- 
son, without placing any dependence on the Spirit of God, as 
the divine Teacher and Guide, Who only can lead honest in- 
quirers into a knowledge and understanding of the things which 
are undiscoverable by the natural man. This method there- 
fore contradicts the truth that “no man knoweth the things of 
a man, save the spirit of man which is in him; even so the 
things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God” (1 Cor. 
eat): 

However, the appeal of this rationalistic school, and the 
apparently “sweet reasonableness” of its method, fastened their 
grip upon many of the scholars within the Church. And as a 
result opinions soon began to be heard in sermons and to be 
expounded in books by theological professors in favor of what 
they were pleased to call “liberalism,” or “modernism”; and 
these opinions either broadly hinted that the inspiration and 
inerrency of the Bible was only a myth, or a superstition that 
had come down from the Dark ages, or they boldly denied 
these doctrines; and they claimed that to believe them was no 
less a folly than to substitute a fallible book of human origin 
and to hold its teachings as of supreme authority, in place of a 
man made pope whose opinions were assumed to partake of 
infallibility. And thus 


“Man, proud man! 

Clothed with a little brief authority, 
Plays such fantastic tricks 

As make the angels weep.” 


And there are not a few of God’s professed people in the 
several denominations who love to have it so. They have little 
difficulty today in securing for their spiritual guides and teach- 
ers men with “itching ears,” who are far more anxious to learn 
what will please the people to whom they minister, than they 
are faithful as ambassadors for Jesus Christ to preach the 
preaching that He bids them whether men will hear, or whether 
they will forbear to hear. 


146 IS THE KINGDOM AGE AT HAND? 


Infidelity Boring from Within 


At first such opinions from professed Christian scholars 
called forth some protest; but the expression of such opinions 
continued and increased. Then a little later they were fol- 
lowed by the denial of the Mosaic authorship of Genesis; and 
then the authorship of other books of the Bible was called in 
question. By these same rationalistic scholars in the Church 
the claim also was put forward that many statements found 
in both the Old and the New Testaments were interpolations, 
or myths, or mere folk lore of a primitive people. Next there 
was proclaimed the discovery that Paul, the chiefest of the 
apostles, contradicted many of the teachings of Jesus Christ. 
Thus the spirit of infidelity was permitted to grow and to 
develop within the Protestant Christian Church until in theo- 
logical seminaries, universities, colleges, and pulpits, there were 
to be found men who were considered orthodox teachers, even 
though they denied that the Bible was in any special sense an 
inspired book, denied the Genesis account of the creation of 
man, denied the Virgin birth and deity of our Lord, denied 
the need and the efficacy of the blood of Christ to atone for 

in, denied that Jesus would ever come again to this earth in 

person, or in any sense other than He has been coming through 
all the Christian centuries, in the onward march of education, 
civilization and brotherhood. Thus these infidel scholars would 
eliminate entirely from Christian teaching the Christ Who died 
for sins. And for the Bible they propose to substitute the 
human reason as the only sure foundation on which to build 
religion, and as the only safe guide to follow for those who 
desire to measure up to the highest possibilities to be attained 
by the evolution of the human race. 


Many in the Church Today Indorse Hypocrisy 


And there are multitudes of professed Christians, having 
good standing in the Church, who love such teachings, and who 
have no patience with, or use for those who teach any thing 
contrary to what they choose to believe as agreeable to their 
own imperfect reason and darkened understanding. 

If one should think the above statement to be untrue or 


PROPHECY CONCERNING THE VISIBLE CHURCH 147 


greatly exaggerated, let him consider that in the 1923 General 
Assembly of the great Presbyterian Church U.S.A., the ques- 
tion as to whether men who held and taught such views as 
above mentioned should be permitted to minister in Presbyterian 
pulpits was decided in the negative, but only by the small 
majority of fifteen votes; at least according to the account of 
that action as published in the daily press. And among the 
denominations that Church is regarded as conservative. 

One may be thankful that the members of Protestant churches 
are manifesting toward each other a spirit of brotherly love, 
and are uniting to improve the opportunity of the open door 
to preach the gospel to heathen nations. But in view of pre- 
vailing conditions within the Church herself it is still necessary 
_to stress the exhortation of her divine Lord, “Hold that fast 
which thou hast, that no man take thy crown.” 

Thus far we have had the cold facts of history to compare 
with the predictions contained in six of these epistles to the 
churches. And the facts are submitted in evidence to establish 
the claim that these epistles are nothing less nor other than a 
prophetic forecast of the course and conduct of the One Visible 
Church from the beginning of her history down to the very 
end of this dispensation of the grace of God. The facts should 
prove convincing even though the truth is far from being 
agreeable, and quite the contrary to what we would very much 
prefer to believe. If, therefore, one believes in the prophetic 
character of these epistles, there is no escape from the conclu- 
sion that the Church age, not less than the times of the Gentiles, 
is rapidly drawing to a close. Only one more period of Church 
history,—the seventh and last, remains for future fulfilment. 
Then the entire prophecy will have been completely and [iter- 
ally fulfilled, the present evil age will have ended, and the 
Kingdom age will have begun. 


The Church of the Laodiceans 


“And unto the angel of the Church of the Laodiceans 
write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true 
witness, the beginning of the creation of God” (ch. 3: 14). 


We come now to consider the seventh epistle, claimed not 
only to be prophetic, but also that it will complete the present 


148 IS THE KINGDOM AGE AT HAND? 


dispensational history of the Church. The predictions of this 
prophecy are being fulfilled right now, in part at least, although 
its complete fulfilment awaits the future and the coming end 
of the age. How far, or how near may be the age end none 
should assume to predict, or even to hazard a guess. It is 
enough to know that at this very time we are living in the last 
period of this dispensation of the grace of God. 

In some of the early manuscripts this epistle is not addressed 
to the Church in Laodicea, but rather it is addressed to the 
Church of the Laodiceans (Greek, Laos, “the people,’ and 
dike, “to give judgment,” or “to rule’), a very significant 
change since it would appear as though this epistle were sent 
to a Church in which the people decided everything for them- 
selves or to the Church of the Democracy, rather than to a 
Church ruled by her divine head, even Christ. 

In calling the attention of that Church to the titles claimed 
by the Speaker it is as though it were said to this democratic 
organization, You choose to be the Church of the people: 
Amen, or so let it be. But as the faithful and true witness I 
will set before you the results of a man made and ruled Church, 
and in contrast I present Myself, The Glorified Son of Man, as 
the beginning of the creation of God. 


Lukewarm Professors 


“T know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot; 
I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art 
lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out 
of My mouth” (ch. 3:15, 16). 


This is the first of several charges brought against the angel, 
or spirit, of this Church. Regarding things spiritual and reli- 
gious, which should be the chief concern of every true Church, 
the spirit of this Church of the Democracy neither favors nor 
opposes. It assumes an attitude of careless indifference to- 
ward all such matters as those in which the Church is supposed 
to be vitally interested, whether they be doctrines or duties,— 
the duties they owe to themselves, to their brethren and to their 
Lord, not less than those which they owe to the world of lost 
humanity,—the perishing at their own door. 


PROPHECY CONCERNING THE VISIBLE CHURCH 149 


Faithful pastors appeal in vain to such a people for their 
support, and their cooperation in carrying on the great work 
for which the Church was instituted. A few, a mere hand- 
ful, will respond, but the great majority are unmoved even by 
the most earnest and insistent appeals, and the kindliest invita- 
tions. The people hear but they simply are not interested in 
any of these things. For the greater part, they are of the class 
which Spurgeon called “the oncers.” Once a week at most they 
attend a religious service. Many of this class are not to be 
seen in the sanctuary more than once a month, and some con- 
sider that they can fully satisfy all their religious obligations 
if they only present themselves on a Communion occasion to 
observe the Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper. 

In such homes there is no family altar, nor do members of 
the family take time for the study of the Bible, or for medita- 
tion on religious subjects, or for communion with God in 
prayer. They are fully occupied with business, and with 
worldly amusements,—the card party, the dance, the theater, 
the club, the socials and the receptions of one kind and another ; 
hence they have no time for Church or for religious work 
especially, since for the performance of such work, each time 
they do attend Church, they contribute a nickel, or a whole dime 
to pay the pastor who is hired to attend to these things for 
them. Of all such professed Christians the Faithful and True 
Witness say, “Thou art lukewarm, and I will spue thee out of 
My mouth.” 


Self-deceived Professors 
However, these Laodicean professors have a very high opin- 
ion of themselves, and of their condition: 


“Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with 
goods, and have need of nothing” (ch. 3:17). 


Such a feeling of self-complacency and contentment with 
one’s condition places the proud possessor beyond the reach of 
help or the hope of betterment. The condition of the conscience 
stricken publican and outcast from society who cries, “God be 
merciful to me a sinner,” is hopeful; but the condition of the 
proud Pharisee, boastful of what he is, and has, and does; who 


150 IS THE KINGDOM AGE AT HAND? 


thanks God that he is not like others, and who feels no need 
of repentance nor of divine mercy, is hopeless. 


Spiritually Bind and Destitute Professors 


The self-deceived professors know not, and so Jong as they 
cherish the delusion regarding themselves and their condition 
it would be impossible to convince them of their great need. 
Hence they are not likely to believe the charge of the Faithful 
and True Witness: 


“and knowest not that thou are wretched, and miserable, 
and poor, and blind, and naked” (ch. 3:17). 


The actual condition of these Laodiceans was that of spiritual 
destitution, yet they knew it not. And what a contrast is pre- 
sented between this Church that is poor in the midst of all its 
riches, and the Church of Smyrna, that is rich in the midst of 
its poverty. Surely God’s ways are not our ways nor His 
thoughts our thoughts, but nevertheless He Who sends the 
message in each case is the Faithful and True Witness Whom 
it is well for all to believe. 


Gracious Advice for Formal Professors 


To these lukewarm, self-deceived, spiritually blind and desti- 
tute professors in the Church of the Democracy there is given 
gracious advice even though by the many it is not at all likely 
to be heeded: 


“T counsel thee to buy of Me gold tried in the fire, that 
thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest 
be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not 
appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou 
mayest see” (ch. 3:18). 


The obedience of Jesus Christ, even unto death of the Cross, 
gave merit to His vicarious atonement which 1s thus, “gold tried 
in the fire” ; and the only medium that will avail those who seek 
to exchange their souls, from the condition of bondage unto 
sin and death, to the condition of the life and liberty of God’s 
children. The soul’s redemption is precious; for that purpose 
the gold of commerce will not avail even though one had gained 


PROPHECY CONCERNING THE VISIBLE CHURCH 151 


the whole world. The only medium of exchange by which 
the desired end can be achieved is the gold tried in the furnace, 
to be purchased from Christ alone, at the price of faith in Him, 
in His obedience, and in His atoning sacrifice. Then one will 
have in his possession and can put on the white raiment, or 
the righteousness that is by faith, and that only can cover the 
shame of his imperfections and of his failures to conform to the 
holy will of God; then also he will have the anointing of the 
Holy Spirit Who can give sight to eyes that are spiritually 
blind and Who can make it possible to see light and truth 
clearly. Such is the gracious advice given by the Saviour to 
the Laodicean Church, the Visible Church of our own day, in 
the last period of her dispensational history. 


Christ Is Not Willing that Any Should Perish 


If any one fails to heed this gracious advice it will not be 
chargeable to any disinterestedness on the part of Christ. Hav- 
ing preferred His charges against the people-ruled church, the 
Church of the Democracy, He shows His desire for her welfare 
and declares: 


“As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten; be zealous 
therefore and repent” (ch. 3:19). 


The charges that place the Church of the Laodiceans in such 
an unfavorable light have not been made against her by an _ 
angry Lord; but rather by the same gracious and compassionate 
Saviour Who wept over Jerusalem, because His people had 
neglected their day of opportunity. Huis rebuke is prompted 
by His great love, and He will chasten the erring in His Church 
as a father deals with a wayward child, rather than as a judge 
deals with a criminal. Therefore the gracious scepter is still 
held out to this spiritually blind and destitute Church, and the 
invitation is, Be zealous and repent. 


The Place Christ Has in the Democratic Church 


In a Church governed by the people themselves, according to 
their own idea of what a Church ought to be, and which is 
supported merely while its conduct meets with their approval, 


152 IS THE KINGDOM AGE AT HAND? 


and ministers to their pride and gratification, it would hardly 

be expected that Christ would hold a very exalted place. And 
“sin the Church of the Laodiceans His place is at the door; 
further it is on the outside of the door where He stands and 
knocks to be admitted: 


“Behold, I stand at the door and knock: if any man 
hear My voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, 
and will sup with him, and he with Me” (ch. 3:20). 


The man-ruled Church will retain the form of godliness, and 
often attach as much importance to the observance of mere 
forms as the discredited Pharisee did to the paying of tithes 
of mint, and anise and cummin. And like the Pharisee also 
who neglects the real important matters of the law, so the 
Church of the Democracy leaves Christ, the Head of the 
Church, outside of its counsels, plans and thoughts. But while 
greatly dishonored by a Church calling itself by His name, that 
nevertheless has no more convenient place for Him than outside 
the door where He is permitted to stand, still Christ waits and 
patiently pleads for admission. ) 

No Church can decide for any man what shall be his attitude 
toward and his relationship with Christ. That is a matter that 
is entirely for self to determine regardless of what others do 
or may fail to do. Even in a Church governed and conducted 
to conform to the popular will, and to gain by all means the 
approval and support of the multitude, without any concern for 
Christ’s approval and support, it is still possible for any man 
who so chooses to honor his Lord and to enjoy the blessings of 
His presence and fellowship. 

In the Democratic Church in which the people make the Creed 
to square with their own convictions, and run things in gen- 
eral pretty much to suit their own pleasure and convenience, 
Christ the Head of the Church, will be pushed aside and receive 
little or no consideration at all. His word, His will and His 
authority count for nothing. It is the people’s Church. Their 
money supports it and they intend that the preacher and the 
choir and everything connected with the Church shall conform 
to their will and good pleasure; otherwise they will have noth- 
ing to do with it. And the love of money, which is the root 


PROPHECY CONCERNING THE VISIBLE CHURCH 153 


of all evil, tempts worldly minded officials to let the unconverted 
rabble have its own way, and the result is a Church of the 
people, rather than a Church of Jesus Christ. But even under 
such untoward conditions a gracious Lord is waiting to bestow 
His richest blessings upon all and upon each one who will open 
the door and bid Him welcome. And outside of His own pro- 
fessed Church will be the Master’s place and position at the end 
of the present dispensation. Is it not plain therefore why Jesus 
should have asked, “When the Son of Man cometh, shall He 
find faith on the earth?” 


Christ's Throne Awaits His Return 


“To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with Me in | 
My throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with 
My Father in His throne. He that hath an ear, let him 
hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches’ (ch. 
Bciziwe2). 


It thus plainly appears that at the every end of the Church age 
Christ is still seated on His Father’s throne, and is not at that 
time occupying His throne,—the throne of His father David 
which, according to the promises made through the prophets 
and the angel Gabriel, belongs to Christ by the gift of God, and 
which awaits an Occupant until the return of Christ, and the 
coming of the Kingdom age (Eze. 21 :25-27). 

Such a forecast of the character and condition of the Visible 
Church of Christ, at the end of the last period of her history 
during this present evil age, is certainly not pleasing. It 1s a 
picture, the contemplation of which, if we believe in its reality, 
may well fill the heart with sorrow, and cause the eyes to run 
down with tears. But it is a picture of things which shall be 
hereafter, as the facts are declared by the Faithful and True 
Witness, and to refuse to heed the message, because it is not 
agreeable to our thought, and because it is contrary to our 
expectation will be to repeat the folly of God’s ancient people 
of the kingdoms of Israel and of Judah. 


CHAPTER XII 
THE UNFULFILLED PROPHECY 
THE CHURCH OF THE LAODICEANS 


Straws Reveal How the Wind Blows 


It is of course impossible to verify the truth of these predic- 
tions, as was done in the case of the first six epistles, by an 
appeal to Church History, because the history of this last 
period, for the greater part, lies in the future, and has not as 
yet been written. But straws indicate the direction in which 
the wind blows, and there are not lacking certain indisputable 
facts that unmistakably fulfil some at least of these predictions, 
and suggest the complete fulfilment, in due time, of every one 
of them. 


The Spirit of Democracy in All Lands Today 


What then are some of the easily discerned and generally 

recognized facts to be found today, both in the world and 
in the Church, that fit into and harmonize with these predic- 
tions, and that afford at least indices that point to the present 
drift of society? It will hardly be questioned by any thought- 
ful person that the spirit of Democracy is a chief characteristic 
of the present time. In all lands and on all sides the cry of the 
rising spirit of Democracy is heard. The daily press and the 
various magazines all contain accounts of the experiments being 
made today by many nations with the rule of Democracy. That 
spirit seems to pervade the very air we breathe. For the 
past several years thrones have been toppling, kings and queens 
with their families are being driven into exile, the words, 
“Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown,” were never more 
appropriate than at the present time and under prevailing con- 
ditions. Peoples long oppressed by misrule are rising up and 


154 


THE UNFULFILLED PROPHECY 155 


taking the reins of government into their own hands. By 
many this fact is hailed with satisfaction. It is an evidence, 
they say, of the spread of knowledge, the growth of intelli- 
gence and the sign of the rapid approach of a higher, better 
and nobler civilization. Others however are awaiting the 
results with bated breath. They consider that Democracy 1s 
not without its dangers even for persons of intelligence who 
have been more or less educated and trained to self-government ; 
and they realize that for the ignorant and inexperienced masses 
of mankind self-government is as unsafe as would be the 
power of life and’ death placed in the hands of a little child. 


Democracy May Lead to Anarchy 

The chief peril arises from the fact that those who have 
once thrown aside restraint, rebelled against constituted author- 
ity and overthrown the existing government, are very likely, 
if they should fail to realize their desires and expectations, to 
disintegrate into a mob without retaining even the semblance of 
organization. Thus they are liable to introduce a reign of 
anarchy, bloodshed and terror, such as has been witnessed in 
Russia and in some of the smaller nations of Europe. This 
Democratic spirit, whether with or without just cause, is apt 
to resent any form of restraint being placed upon the freedom 
of persons to act according to their own will and pleasure. 
And since in every well-ordered society the liberty of the in- 
dividual must be defined and limited by law in order to pre- 
serve equality of rights that may be claimed and enjoyed by 
all, this very necessity has aroused in many today a feeling of 
restlessness and dissatisfaction even under as just and free a 
government as that which maintains in our own country. This 
fact is evidenced by the waves of crime that are sweeping over 
our land, causing alarm and exciting terror in different commu- 
nities. It appears in the amazing increase in the number of 
divorces which in some cities nearly equals the number of mar- 
riages. It is witnessed in many homes, some even of pro- 
fessedly Christian families, in which children have ceased to 
show any reverence for their parents and do not hesitate to 
speak of father or mother as “the old man” or “the old 
woman,” or to address them in a tone of voice akin to contempt 


156 IS THE KINGDOM AGE AT HAND? 


or to fly into a rage at the mere suggestion that they are sub- 
ject to parental authority. Thus today even children, possessed 
of such a spirit, resent any attempt to interfere with the liberty 
they claim, to do as they please. And evidently it does not 
please children who thus act to show the least gratitude for all 
the parental care and kindness they have received and upon 
which largely they may still be dependent. 


The Spirit of Democracy in the Church 

And this same spirit is manifesting itself today, and to an 
extent never before known, even in the Church and among 
the professed people of God. Upon His Church Christ has 
bestowed the power and authority to exercise discipline, not 
only upon those who may be guilty of scandalous sins, but 
also upon those who wilfully and persistently break their vows 
by neglecting to make a diligent use of the means of grace, or 
who defiantly conform, in so far as it pleases themselves, to the 
customs of a godless age and society. But discipline is practi- 
cally unknown today in the Church. It is entirely unknown 
except possibly among a few of the older members who can 
recall that in their childhood the Church of Christ had some 
rules and regulations which her members not only promised, 
but were required to observe, or they would be brought before 
the courts of Christ’s House, or “the bench of elders,” as it was 
by some called, for censure and admonition. 

Today however Church members talk as they like and do as 
they please without much respect for what the Church may 
teach in condemnation of their conduct and conversation. And 
so long as they do not transgress the civil laws and subject them- 
selves to arrest as criminals they have no fear of being called 
upon to answer for their sins by any Church court. Nor is it 
likely that many of them would respond if they were summoned; 
and some would even laugh if they were suspended; for the 
spirit of Democracy has taken hold of them; they have become 
a law unto themselves, and refuse to recognize any higher law 
or authority to which they have any reason to sumbit. Hence 
like those of Sodom and Gomorrah if they do right in their 
own eyes they retain their self-respect, and they show but little 
concern for what others may think of them or of their conduct, 


THE UNFULFILLED PROPHECY 157 


even though they forfeit the confidence and respect of their 
brethren in the Church. 


Religious Conditions to Which Attention Is Called by the 
International S. S. Council. 


{f one is disposed to regard what is presented in this book 
regarding prevailing conditions in the Church today as the 
ravings of an extremist and pessimist, then read the following 
declaration recently sent out by the International S. S. Council 
of Religious Education. A copy of this declaration can be 
secured by sending a request for the same to the Secretary, No. 5 
S. Wabash Ave., Chicago, Ill. This organization represents 
thirty-five of the larger denominations having a membership of 
over twenty millions all of whom are represented in the co- 
operative, international activities of the Council. The repre- 
sentatives of such an organization, speaking in the name of 
the Council, can surely be trusted to present judiciously and 
conservatively the FACTS to which they consider it necessary 
to call attention. And regarding religious conditions, not in 
lands of heathenism, but right here in Christian America, at- 
tention is called to what the statement declares is “THE AP- 
PALLING TRUTH.” It is as follows: 


Twenty-seven million American persons, nominally Prot- 
estants, under twenty-five years of age, receive abso- 
lutely no formal or systematic religious instruction. 

Eight million children, under ten years of age, nominally 
Protestants, are growing up in non-church homes. 

Two out of every three Protestant children and youth, 
under twenty-five years of age, are not being touched 
in any way by the educational program of any Church. 

The Protestant churches provide only twenty-six hours 
annually of instruction in Sunday School. The average 
attendance is only one half the enrollment. The aver- 
age therefore is but thirteen hours per child enrolled 
per year. 

The lack of a trained leadership is apparent. The Prot- 
estant Church schools are in charge of an army of 
untrained and unsupervised teachers and officers, with 
meager equipment and inadequate support. There is a 
marked decline in Religious education in the home. 

General education is vitally important, but without re- 
ligion may produce the clever criminal—the adept 


158 IS THE KINGDOM AGE AT HAND? 


deceiver—the brilliant forger—the dangerous citizen. 
Roosevelt said: ‘People educated in intellect and not 
educated in morals and religion will become a menace 
to our nation.” 

The wholesome influence of a practical, livable, spiritual 
religion is necessary. Jesus Christ was the Master 
Teacher because He taught simple and basic principles 
—and lived what He taught. 

The effective Church of today must supplement the min- 
istry of preaching with the ministry of teaching. 


Unless something is done to counteract the destructive influ- 
ence tearing down the moral fibre of our future citizens, we 
will rear a generation unable to cope with the multiplying forces 
of evil. 


IN THE NAME OF THE FUTURE OF AMERICA WE CALL UPON 
YOU TO AID! 


Present conditions must be bettered. As a far-sighted busi- 
ness proposition, the safety of your home, the perpetuity of 
your cherished rights, the welfare of your loved ones is in 
grave danger. 

DELINQUENCY 
CRIME 

IM MORALITY 
DIVORCE 

DISREGARD FOR LAW 


Are they increasing in your community? Why are there so 
many Youthful Lawbreakers? 

Such a statement is a revelation of the extent to which The 
Protestant Church has been neglecting her opportunity, even 
at her very door. The result is that religious education in Pro- 
fessedly Christian homes is markedly on the decline. And 
today there are few Church members who are sufficiently in- 
terested, even in the spiritual well-being and eternal destiny 
of their own children, to make any sufficient provision for 
the Christian education and training of the youth of the 
Protestant Church such as will afford them the only adequate 
protection from the forces of evil that are dragging them down 
to destruction and perdition. Such conditions prove that the 
Church is lukewarm, and she has lost her interest in her youth 


—— ss 


THE UNFULFILLED PROPHECY 159 


only because she has lost her FAITH in the fundamental 
teachings of the Christian religion. 


The Church to Contend for the Fath and Witness for the 
Truth. 


Further, the Christian Church is declared to be the pillar and 
ground of the truth. She is exhorted to contend earnestly for 
the faith which was once for all delivered unto the saints (Jude 
3). But times have changed, and the claim is made that the 
Church must keep up with the times. Today the thought of 
the many appears to be that a Church service should afford an 
attractive and pleasing entertainment, rather than an opportu- 
nity for the worship of God and for instruction in the Word 
of God. 

The service also must be brief, exceedingly brief in some of 
the larger, more influential and wealthier congregations, because 
they depend for the money required to meet promptly their 
financial obligations on the contributions of certain rich pew- 
holders who are not professing Christians, although probably 
they are very nice respectable people, and of certain others also 
who are professed Christians, although their intimate friends 
have no reason even to suspect that fact. But they also are rich 
and frequently large contributors provided the services are 
conducted in a manner pleasing to them. Such persons are will- 
ing to grace the Church occasionally with their presence, but 
they do not wish to be detained very long at a service in the 
house of God. Frequently, therefore, after making due allow- 
ance for the musical part of the entertainment, and for the 
announcement of socials and other amusements to be held dur- 
ing the week, but little time remains for the observance of 
even the forms of godliness. These social announcements are 
all printed in the Church bulletin for the information of the 
congregation, but nevertheless the pastor is required to an- 
nounce the same with appropriate comments, and also to extend 
to all a hearty invitation to come for a good time and to enjoy 
themselves. After these essentials, which are required by 
the lovers of pleasures more than of God, there seldom remain 
more than fifteen or twenty minutes for the reading of a few 
verses of Scripture, the offering of a brief prayer in which 


ae 


160 IS THE KINGDOM AGE AT HAND? 


the pastor is expected to tell God about the great goodness of 
the congregation and its generous contributions for missions 
and other worthy objects, and also if the time will permit, for 
a five minute essay to be read by the pastor on “The Relative 
merits of Shakespearean plays as compared with the Modern 
drama,” or some similar subject that will be more or less inter- 
esting, and that will have the special merit of not being likely 
to give any offense to those who have come to the service to be 
entertained. 

Granted that such a farce, conducted in the name of religion, 
is not the general rule today, at least in the more evangelical 
churches, but no one who is at all acquainted with the facts 
can deny that there are churches, supposedly evangelical, in 
which services no more worth while are being conducted Sab- 
bath after Sabbath, and in which no gospel messages that go 
beyond the doctrines of humanitarianism would be acceptable 
to or tolerated by those whose money and influence determine 
the character of every service permitted to be held in those 
congregations. 


Foundation Truths Being Repudiated by Many Professors 
Today. 

And what conclusion is to be drawn from the sad fact, known 
to all the world and deplored by every God-fearing man and 
woman, that today there are to be found many who by voice 
and pen are persisting in their attacks upon the very founda- 
tion truths of the Christian religion. These attacks come not 
from those without the Church who are open, avowed and 
honest infidels, but the attacks come from those who are within 
the Church, and of whom many are professedly Christian teach- 
ers, holding positions of commanding influence in schools of the 
prophets, in colleges, in great universities and in the pulpits of 
large strong congregations of professedly orthodox Christian 
people. 

And in defiance of those who, in the name of Christianity and 
also of common honesty, protest against such teachings, and 
who would put an end to them at least within Christian con- 
trolled institutions, these same teachers of infidelity tauntingly 
reply, “If you refuse to tolerate us and our teachings you will 


THE UNFULFILLED PROPHECY 161 


drive out of the Church a great multitude of the best, the most 
influential and the most devout Christians to be found today 
among your members.” “A great multitude!” That is their 
own estimate of the number of those today within the Church 
as members who are poor and miserable and wretched and 
blind and naked; yet who think themselves rich and increased 
in good, having need of nothing. 

Remember such conditions are present even today in the 
Church although the last period of Church History before the 
end of this dispensation of the grace of God has only a little 
more than begun. Following then the line suggested in the 
epistle itself, this Church of the Laodiceans might be described 
as, “The period of Democracy and the spread of the teachings 
of humanitarianism and of latitudinarianism, when many pro- 
fessing Christians manifest a spirit of independence of all rule 
and authority, of indifference even to the vital truth of religion 
and of self-righteous complacency ; when the leaders also in the 
Church engage in the public defense of the claims of infidelity, 
when representative scholars of the Church do not hesitate to 
dishonor and to cast reproach upon Christ Whose deity they 
deny; and many determinedly resist and dishonor the Holy 
Spirit. From the revival of German rationalism, the abandon- 
ment of all Church discipline and the rise of infidelity within 
the Protestant Church under the cloak of “liberalism,” and 
“modernism,” to the Great Apostacy, A.D. 1880—to the end 
of the present Church Age. 


Jesus Predicted Ungodliness and Anarchy to Follow His Furst 
Advent 

While the forecast of this last period of the history of the 
Visible Church, for the greater part necessarily, is lacking the 
confirmation of historic proof, still it is in perfect agreement 
with what Jesus and His inspired apostles declared would be 
the prevailing conditions to be found within the Church “in the 
last days.” To emphasize the fact that the universal prevalence 
of peace on earth, which has been promised during the King- 
dom age, was not to be attained at His First Advent, Jesus 
declared : 


162 IS THE KINGDOM AGE AT HAND? 


“Think not that I am come to send peace on the earth: 
I came not to send peace, but a sword. For 1 am come 
to set a man at variance against his father, and the 
daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law 
against her mother in law. And a man’s foes shall be 
they of his own household” (Matt. 10: 34-36). 


Here as plainly as words can describe the fact Jesus made it 
known that the result of His First Advent would ultimately end 
in the severance of the most sacred ties, the repudiation of all 
authority and the breaking up of all order in the family which 
is the very foundation of organized society. This prediction of 
Christ can mean nothing less than the reign of ANARCHY. 


Paul Warns of a Form of Godliness That Denies Its Power 
The apostle Paul forewarns the Church as follows: 


“This know also, that in the last days perilous times 
shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, 
covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to 
parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affections, 
truce, or covenant breakers, false accusers, incontinent, 
fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady, 
high minded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; 
having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof; 
From such turn away. For of this sort are they which 
creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with 
sins, led away with divers lusts, ever learning, and never 
able to come to the knowledge of the truth. Now as 
Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so do these also 
resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, reprobate con- 
cerning the faith’ (2 Tim. 3:1-8). 


“The time will come when they shall not endure sound 
doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to 
themselves teachers, having itching ears; and they shall 
turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned 
unto fables” (2 Tim. 4:3, 4). 


James Predicts That Laborers Will Be Defrauded by the Rich 
And here is another prediction of an inspired apostle: 
“Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your mis- 


eries that shall come upon you. Your riches are cor- 
rupted, and your garments are motheaten. Your gold and 


THE UNFULFILLED PROPHECY 163 


silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness 
against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye 
have heaped treasure together for the last days. Behold, 
the hire of the laborers who have reaped down your 
fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth; and 
the crys of them that have reaped are entered into the ears 
of the Lord of Sabaoth, or Jehovah of Hosts. Ye have 
lived in pleasure on the earth, and been wanton; ye have 
nourished your hearts as in a day of slaughter. Ye have 
condemned and killed the just; and he doth not resist you. 
Be patient, therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the 
Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious 
fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he ~ 
receive the early and the latter rain. Be ye also patient; 
establish your hearts; for the coming of the Lord draweth 
nigh” (Jas. 5:1-8). 


Peter Warns of Infidel Scoffers Who Will Despise Government 
In full accord with these predictions concerning the last days 
are the warnings given to the Church by the apostle Peter: 


“Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last 
days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, and saying, 
Where is the promise of His coming? for since the 
fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from 
the beginning of the creation. For this they willingly 
are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were 
of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the 
water; whereby the world that then was, being overflowed 
with water, perished; but the heavens and the earth that 
now are, by the same word, are kept in store, reserved 
unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of 
ungodly men” (2 Pet. 3:3-7). 

“But there were false prophets among the people (of 
old), even as there shall be false teachers among you 
who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even deny- 
ing the Lord that bought them and bring upon themselves 
swift destruction. And many shall follow their pernicious 
ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil 
spoken of. And through covetousness shall they with 
feigned words make merchandise of you. . . . The Lord 
knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptation, and 
to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be 
punished: but chiefly them that walk after the flesh in 
the lust of uncleanness, and despise government. Pre- 
sumptuous are they, self-willed, they are not afraid to 
speak evil of dignities . . . which have forsaken the 


164 IS THE KINGDOM AGE AT HAND? 


right way, and are gone astray, following the way of 
Balaam the son of Bosor, who loved the wages of un- 
righteousness (the salary paid ministers as hirelings to 
prostitute their office). ... While they promise them 
liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption. 
... If after they have escaped the pollutions of the world 
through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus 
Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, 
the latter end is worse with them than the beginning. 
For it had been better for them not to have known the 
way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to 
turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them” 
(2° Petiatte2 biy7 . 


Jude Prophecies of the Coming Apostacy 


So also the epistle of Jude was written to warn the Church of 
the coming apostacy. He says: 


“There are certain men crept in unawares, who were 
before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, 
turning the grace of God into lasciviousness, and denying 
the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ.” 


Jude then recites certain historical incidents of previous 
apostacies, and the judgments that followed. Ue then adds, 
quoting the prophecy of Enoch: 


“Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of His 
saints, to execute judgment upon all, and to convince all 
that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds 
which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard 
speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him. 
These are murmurers, complainers, walking after their 
own lusts; and their mouth speaketh great swelling words, 
having men’s persons in admiration because of advantage. 
But beloved, remember ye the words that were spoken 
before of the prophets of our Lord Jesus Christ; how 
that they told you there should be mockers in the last time, 
who should walk after their own ungodly lusts. These 
be they who separate themselves, sensual, having not the 
Spirit” (Jude 4-7, 14-19). 


Any one who can discover in such teachings of Scripture 
even the suggestion of a Church victorious over sin, dwelling 
together with a converted world, and enjoying the peace and 


THE UNFULFILLED PROPHECY 165 


blessedness of the Millennium in the last days, or the end of 
the age before the return of Christ, has surely developed a 
faculty for the discernment of things that are entirely opposed 
to what God has revealed for our learning. 


The Order of Final Events 


And then once again the apostle Paul gives the order of the 
closing events of this age right down to the Day of Christ, 
which Day he very carefully distinguishes from the appearing 
of Christ for His saints, and our gathering together unto Him 
(2 Thes. 2: 1-12; also 1 Thes. 4:13-18). According to the 
Note on this Scripture by Dr. Scofield, the order of events is 
“(1) The working of the mystery of lawlessness (Anarchy), 
under divine restraint, which had already begun in the apostles’ 
time (v. 7); (2) The apostacy of the professing Church (v. 3; 
Lk. 18:8; 2 Tim. 3:1-8); (3) The removal of that which for 
the present restrains the mystery of lawlessness (vs. 6,7). The 
restrainer is a person,—he,’ and since a mystery always im- 
plies a supernatural element, this Person can be no other than 
the Holy Spirit in the Church, to ‘be taken out of the way’ 
(v. 7; 1 Thes. 4:14-17). (Authorities who think that ‘he 
that restraineth’ refers to Nero, or some other earthly poten- 
tate, should read Matt. 12: 24-28; E. M. M.). (4) The mani- 
festation of the lawless one, the Antichrist (vs. 8-10; Dan. 7-8; 
9:27; Matt. 24:15; Rev. 13: 2-10); (5) The coming of Christ 
in glory and the destruction of the lawless one (v. 8; Rev. 
19: 11-21); (6) The Day of Jehovah, or of Christ (vs. 9-12; 
iSagesietr voc 


The Blessed Hope 

Here then are easily understood and most positive predictions 
regarding the character of the last days of this age, and of the 
several events to be expected as these are testified to by Jesus 
Christ and His inspired apostles. Their witness is in perfect 
agreement and corresponds in every detail with the conditions 
described in the epistle to the Church of the Laodiceans. Such 
testimony is authoritative and final for true Christians even 
though their understanding of these predictions may differ. 
And those who truly understand and believe the prophecies of 


166 IS THE KINGDOM AGE AT HAND? 


Scripture will not be taken unaware by the events that must 
shortly come to pass. Nor does the dark shadow of these 
approaching events cause those who believe in the certainty of 
these things to become pessimists, and to despair of any 
good. Their vision does not end in a fog-bank; they behold 
the evil day coming, but their faith also pierces through the 
dark and threatening clouds, and like the young man who served 
Elijah and whose eyes God had opened (2 Kings 6:-15-17), 
they have no fear, no doubts, no uncertainty regarding the out- 
come; but rather theirs is the blessed hope, even the glorious 
appearing of the great God, and our Saviour Jesus Christ (Tit. 


B13) 


To Believe the Prophets Is to Know the Future 


Those who believe the prophets know that the prevalent spirit 
of lawlessness will continue and even increase as this present 
evil age draws nearer to its close. They know that the lament- 
able conditions already manifest within the Visible Church of 
Christ are but the preparatory steps that will lead to and end 
in the great apostacy, or the falling away of professed believers 
from the faith once delivered unto the saints, and consequently 
in the complete withdrawal of the Holy Spirit from such a 
fellowship. They know that immediately thereafter there will 
appear the Lawless one, or the Antichrist, who will be the 
incarnation of Satan himself, even as the Man Christ Jesus 
is the incarnation of deity. They know that then the wicked 
and ungodly will celebrate the victory of the Devil, and that 
most awful conditions, such as are beyond the power of words 
to describe, will for a time transform this earth into a veritable 
hell. All of these things are according to the prophecy of 
Scripture, and to believe the prophets is to know the things 
which shall be hereafter. But thanks be unto God “the triumph- 
ing of the wicked is short” (Job 20: 5),—at most a few brief 
years. Then Jehovah Jesus will bare His holy arm in the eyes 
of all the nations; and all ends of the earth shall see the salva- 
tion of our God (Isa. 52: 10). 


“For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the 
Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. For when they 





THE UNFULFILLED PROPHECY 


shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction 
cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; 
and they shail not escape. But ye, brethren, are not in 
darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief” 
(1 Thes. 5: 2-4). 


167 


CHAPTER XIII 
THE VISION IN HEAVEN 


Christ's Authority Is Over All Things 

It is unfortunate, to say the least, that so many sincere Chris- 
tians and teachers of the Word of God have so imperfect an 
understanding of the truth revealed in the Book of the Revela- 
tion of Jesus Christ for our learning. 
This is the only book of the Bible that supplies the believer 
- with an inspired pen portraiture of the Glorified Son of Man 
as He appears today in the heavenlies (Rev. 1: 12-18), at the 
right hand of the Majesty on high (Heb. 1:3), henceforth ex- 
pecting till His enemies be made His footstool (Heb. 10:13). 

The four gospels reveal Jesus as the Man of Sorrows, 
acquainted with grief, despised and rejected of men. The 
several epistles relate the great blessings left as a legacy to the 
Church and also to the world by the same Jesus Who was 
crucified for our sins, Who rose for our justification and Who 
ascended to heaven that: He might send the Holy Spirit with 
blessings to all who would receive them as coming from Him. 
And both the gospels and the epistles promise the return of 
Christ in glory to reign in His Kingdom on the earth. But it 
is only in this book that we have the Revelation, or the un- 
veiling, of the Glorified Son of Man, Jesus Christ, in His 
present relation to time, and to all things now on the earth as 
the One Who is, and Who was, and Who is to come (Rev. 
1:4). To Jesus all authority has been given and is now 
possessed by Him (Matt. 28:18). He was in the beginning 
with God, and all things were made by Him (John 1: 2, 3) ; and 
He is to come again and réstore all things which God hath 
spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world 
began (Acts 3: 20, 21). 

This book makes it known what Jesus is doing while His 

168 


THE VISION IN HEAVEN 169 


friends are working and waiting for Him to return with bless- 
ings and rewards for them. It reveals Him in His present 
relation to all things in the heavens and on the earth: in His 
relation to the churches, to true and false professors, to the 
Gentile nations, to the seed of Abraham, to coming judgments 
that will desolate this earth (Ps. 46), and that are to be sent 
forth unto victory, to the great and dreadful day of the Lord 
when He will triumph over every enemy and crush before Him 
every foe, to the Kingdom which He will establish on this 
earth and to the new things that will follow the Kingdom Age. 

In this book we behold Jesus in His threefold offices as the 
Prophet-Judge, the Great High Priest, and the Glorious and 
Almighty Sovereign Who is King of kings and Lord of lords. 
Here He appears also as the gracious Saviour, the just Master 
and Employer, the loving Friend, and the adorable Bridegroom, 
the One altogether lovely and the chiefest among ten thousand. 


Christ Is the Center of Every Vision Had by the Seer 


In every vision granted the Seer, as recorded in this book, 
Jesus must be seen and recognized, either in His own Person, 
or in His representative acting in His name and by His au- 
thority, as the Most High God Who is in the midst of the 
throne in heaven, and in the midst also of the churches, and as 
the One Who ruleth in the kingdom of men and giveth it to 
whomsoever He will. 

And since this book is such a complete revelation, or unveiling 
of Jesus Christ as He is today, and as He appears governing 
and directing the affairs of men for the accomplishing of His 
just and righteous purposes, it should be easy to understand 
why it is the one book, above all others, concerning which it 
is declared: 


“Blessed is he that readeth (referring to the public 
reader), and they that hear the words of this prophecy, 
and keep those things that are written therein: for the 
time is at hand” (Rev. 1:3). 


But to keep in mind and to do the things that are written in 
this book it is essential that they shall be understood. And 


170 IS THE KINGDOM AGE AT HAND? 


Jesus evidently intended that they should be understood when 
He commissioned His beloved disciple, “To write the things 
which thou hast seen, and the things which are, and the things 
which shall be hereafter, and send it unto the seven churches,”— 
the seven including the One Visible Church of Christ in her 
dispensational fulness or completion. 

It is proposed now, therefore, to offer a brief explanation of 
the principal events which in the days of the Seer were the 
things which shall be hereafter, and which for the greater part 
await the future even to this day for their complete fulfilment. 


“After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened 
in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it 
were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come 
up hither, and I will show thee things which must be 
hereafter. And immediately I was in the spirit” (Rev. 


AST 2\) 5 


“After this,” refers of course to the messages received that 
were to be sent to the seven churches. Having completed that 
work, which forecast the general history of the Church from 
the beginning of her work to the end of the dispensation of the 
grace of God, the Seer is now to receive visions of other, and 
of entirely different things that have their own time for begin- 
ning and ending. 

It is a mistake therefore to conclude, as many do, that begin- 
ning with the fourth chapter, all the events mentioned are to be 
fulfilled only after the predictions concerning the Church have 
had their fulfilment. This will be made clear by later explana- 
tions. The above words, therefore, “after this,” signify nothing 
more than that the Seer, who had received the messages that 
were to be sent to the churches while he abode on Patmos, is 
now called to come up to heaven for further visions of things 
which must be hereafter. He obeyed the divine call and imme- 
» diately in spirit only, and not in body, the Seer passed through 
the opened door and was in heaven. There he saw and de- 
scribed, not only things in heaven, but also what he beheld, 
from that vantage ground, of the events that transpired on the 
earth and in the world of Gentile nations. 


} 


THE VISION IN HEAVEN 171 
The Throne Set in Heaven 


“And, behold, a throne was set in heaven, and One sat 
on the throne. And He that sat was to look upon like a 
jasper and a sardine stone; and there was a rainbow 
round about the throne, in sight like unto an emerald. 
And round about the throne were four and twenty seats; 
and upon the seats I saw four and twenty elders sitting, 
clothed in white raiment; and they had on their heads 
crowns of gold” (Rev. 4: 2-4). 


The throne which John beheld in heaven was occupied by 
the Godhead, and all that he further describes merely adds 
important details to the vision that was granted to the prophet 
Daniel (7:13, 14) regarding the same scene and events that 
are here recorded in the Book of the Revelation. Seated about 
this throne were four and twenty elders, the number twelve 
and its multiples signify the completed and perfected work of 
God; and the elders were those saints who, after Christ’s 
resurrection, came out of their graves and appeared unto many 
in the holy city, and who evidently were received into heaven 
after Christ’s ascension (Matt. 27:52, 53). They are elders, 
therefore, as regards the time of their resurrection and reward. 
Their white raiment symbolizes the righteousness of the saints, 
and their crowns were those of victors (1 Cor. 15: 54-57). 


“And out of the throne proceeded lightnings, and 
thunderings, and voices; and there were seven lamps of 
fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits 
of God. And before the throne there was a sea of glass 
like unto crystal; and in the midst of the throne, and 
round about the throne, were four living creatures full 
of eyes before and behind. And the first living creature 
was like a lion, and the second living creature was like a 
calf, and the third living creature has a face as a man, 
and the fourth living creature was like a flying eagle. 
And the four living creatures had each of them six wings 
about him; and they were fuli of eyes within; and they 
rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord 
God Almighty, Who was, and is, and is to come” (Rev. 


4:5-8). 


It was a judgment throne that John beheld for out of it 
proceeded lightnings, thunderings and voices. The seven lamps 


172 IS THE KINGDOM AGE AT HAND? 


or Spirits before the throne are symbolic of the dispensational 
fulness of the One Holy Spirit. The living creatures in the 
midst and round about the throne were full of eyes indicative 
of a marvelous power of discernment and understanding ; their 
wings are suggestive of sustained and swift movement. And 
there are two things that make it practically certain that what 
the Seer then beheld and described was in preparation for the 
judgment of the Gentile world of which the character and 
conduct, from the beginning to the end of this present evil age, 
are predicted, just as in the epistles there is a forecast of the 
entire history of the Visible Church. (1) There is a rainbow 
about the throne which at once recalls God’s Covenant with 
Noah (Gen. 9:9-17), of which the bow in the cloud was to be 
the token. That Covenant was made with Noah, and his sons, 
and also with every living creature of all flesh that was upon 
the earth. That Covenant also was established for “perpetual 
generations,’ and served as a guarantee to all flesh that they 
should not again be cut off from the earth by the waters of a 
flood. The rainbow also was the token of the Covenant between 
God and the earth (v. 13). 

Then (2) The four living creatures about that throne were 
evidently representatives of all flesh dwelling on the earth. 
The first was like a lion, the king of wild beasts; the second 
was like a calf, a representative of domestic animals; the third 
had the face as a man, and so represented the rational creation; 
and the fourth was like a flying eagle, the king of the fowls of 
the air. Now since God had prepared His throne for judgment 
(Ps. 9: 3-9), these representatives of creation are present to 
bear witness to the fact that justice and judgment are the 
habitation of that throne. 


The Living Creatures Are Glorified Men 

It is further evident that the four living creatures, who in 
relation to the judgment throne occupy a position of unusual 
honor, exaltation and dignity, are themselves redeemed men 
rather than cherubim or seraphim as some have supposed them 
to be. They do not answer the description of either of these 
angelic orders of beings and they unite with the elders in the 
“new song” of the redeemed (Rev. 5:1-10). Who they are 


THE VISION IN HEAVEN 173 


among the worthies of faith has not been revealed, and it would 
serve no good purpose to try to guess their identity although 
there are Scriptures that seem to support the suggestion that 
the living creatures are Enoch, Elijah, Moses and Paul the 
great apostle. It is enough to know that these living creatures 
are today leaders in the worship of God in heaven, and they are 
joined by the elders who cast their crowns before the throne, 
saying: “Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor 
and power; for Thou hast created all things, and for Thy 
pleasure they are and were created.” 


The Sea of Glass 


For the house of the Lord in Jerusalem Solomon provided 
a molten sea... the brim was wrought like the brim of a 
cup, with flowers of lilies; it contained ten thousand baths (1 ‘ 
Kings 7:23, 26). That molten sea with its baths was for the 
use of those who would worship in the temple, and the required 
washings of the worshipers signified their cleansing from sin’s 
defilement; for God must be worshiped in the beauty of holli- 
ness (Ps. 96:9). The sea of glass clear as crystal before the 
throne in heaven suggests the same truth, namely, that only the 
pure in heart shall see God. But the sea before the throne 
contains no baths, for all other than the holy angels, who are 
permitted to appear before the thrice holy God to worship Him, 
have already been washed in the blood of the Lamb and made 
whiter than snow. Sin cannot enter heaven, and so there the 
sea has not been defiled: it appears clear as crystal. 


CHAPTER XIV 
THE BOOK WITH SEVEN SEALS 


The Title Deed to the Earth 


“And I saw in the right hand of Him that sat on the 
throne a book written within and on the backside, sealed 
with seven seals. And I saw a strong angel proclaiming 
with a loud voice, Who is worthy to open the book, and 
to loose the seals thereof? And no man in heaven, nor 
on earth, neither under the earth (the dead who await 
resurrection), was able to open the book, neither to look 
thereon. And I wept much, because no man was found 
worthy to open and to read the book, neither to look 
thereon” (Rev. 5: 1-4). 


The little book in the hand of the Creator was THE TITLE 
' DEED TO THE EARTH. ‘This fact is shown by the rainbow throne 
which reminds of the Covenant between God and the earth; also 
by the “new song” sung by the four living creatures and by the 
elders after Christ had taken the book out of the right hand of 
Him Who sat on the throne (vs. 8-10). 

We shall meet this same little book again in the hand of the 
mighty angel Who comes down from heaven, clothed with a 
cloud, and a rainbow upon His head. He has in His hand the 
little book open instead of sealed, and this angel Who is Christ 
Himself takes formal possession at that time both of the earth 
and of the sea (Rev. 10:1, 2; Josh. 1:3). And the final result 
of the taking of that book, and of the opening of its seals by 
Christ is declared, when the great voices in heaven proclaim: 

“The kingdoms of this world are become the Kingdom 
of our Lord and of His Anointed One (the true Church, 


the Bride, the Lamb’s Wife), and He shall reign for 
THE AGE of the ages” (Rev. 11:15). 


The Seven Seals 


The book that John saw was sealed with seven seals which 
signifies that the right to take possession of the inheritance was 


174 


THE BOOK WITH SEVEN SEALS 175 


for some reason delayed. Such was the case when Hanameel 
desired the prophet Jeremiah to buy his field that was in 
Anathoth, and at that time in the possession of Nebuchadnezzar 
and his army that had laid siege to Jerusalem. The prophet, 
believing the word of the Lord that predicted the restoration of 
the land to Judah, bought the offered field for a price, and had 
the evidence of the purchase duly subscribed and sealed accord- 
ing to the law and custom. Then in the presence of the wit- 
nesses that had attested the deed of purchase, the prophet 
delivered the sealed book unto Baruch whom he charged to put 
the evidences of the purchase in an earthen vessel “that they 
may continue for many days’; and the prophet added: “Thus 
saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel: Houses and fields 
and vineyards shall be possessed again in this land” (Jer. 
32:6-15). 


Christ the Proprietor; But Satan the Possessor Today of the 
Earth 

By right of creation “the earth is the Lord’s and the fulness 
thereof,’ as the Bible declares. He also purposed that the — 
righteous should inherit the earth and enjoy its possession. But ° 
it is further revealed how Satan usurped the dominion, and 
how ever since the fall of the race he has held the possession 
and refused the Lawful Proprietor His just rights in the earth. 
The Devil also claims the right of a proprietor to give the honor, 
glory and riches of the earth to whomsoever he would. Even 
Jesus recognized the fact that for the present Satan, by the 
free will and choice of men, was the accepted prince of the 
habitable world (John 14:30), and that he was therefore the 
god of the age whom blinded nations served. But Jesus also 
declared, “NOW is the judgment of this world; NOW shall 
the prince of this world be cast out’? (John 12:31). And “in 
the spirit” the Seer is transported to heaven and is carried away 
from time into the future when the usurper is finally cast out, 
and when the rightful Proprietor comes into possession of His 
inheritance. 

And as the prophet Daniel makes it known it was when the 
Son of Man ascended to the court of heaven in a cloud that at 
once He approached the Ancient of days to claim and to receive 


176 IS THE KINGDOM AGE AT HAND? 


His inheritance from Him. It is the same court scene that here 
appears to John in the vision, and he furnishes the details that 
are not to be found in Daniel’s prophecy, or anywhere but in 
this Book of the Revelation. John sees therefore the title deed 
to the earth in the hand of the Creator; it has long been sealed, 
and the question is asked: “Who is worthy, or entitled, to open 
the book and to loose the seals thereof?” 


“And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not; 
behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, 
hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven 
seals thereof. And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the 
throne and of the four living creatures, and in the midst 
of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having 
seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits 
of God sent forth into all the earth. And He came and 
took the book out of the right hand of Him that sat upon 
the throne” (Rev. 5:5-7). 


It is a sad but true fact that not even the best men of our 
race that ever lived on this earth are able of themselves to regain 
the inheritance that has been forfeited because of sin. No 
wonder that John wept much, for not even the beloved disciple 
himself was worthy to accomplish that result. However, as 
one of the elders informed the Seer, the Lion of the tribe of 
Judah, the root of David, had succeeded, and John recognized 
Him Who was worthy to claim the inheritance as the Lamb 
that had been slain, having now seven horns, significant of 
complete earthly power and authority, and seven eyes, or the 
seven Spirits of God, symbolic of the dispensational fulness of 
the Holy Spirit in his omniscience and ability to discern and 
to reveal even the very secrets of the hearts of men,—Jesus 
possessed all, and lo, He was in the midst of the throne, and 
in the midst of those about the throne, the central Personage 
of all. He came and took the book, the title deed to the earth, 
out of the hand of Him Who sat upon the throne. 

Not only as the Creator but as the Redeemer and as the Only 
Begotten Son, the title to this earth is vested in our Lord Jesus 
Christ; its possession also is assured Him by the Covenant 
promise of the Father (Ps. 2: 7-12), and in this vision Jesus 


THE BOOK WITH SEVEN SEALS 177 


is seen prepared to take whatever steps are necessary to take 
possession of His purchased inheritance (Eph. 1:14). 


Universal Worship and Adoration 


“And when He had taken the book, the four living 
creatures and four and twenty elders fell down before 
the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden 
bowls full of odors, which are the prayers of saints. And 
they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy t) take 
the book, and to open the seals thereof; for Thou wast 
slain, and hast redeemed us to God by Thy blood out of 
every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation; and - 
hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we 
shall reign on the earth” (Rev. 5:8-10). 


Here the four living creatures join with the elders in the 
new song, and both alike acknowledge redemption by the blood 
of the Lamb Who also had made them kings and priests unto 
God. And anticipating the results they declare: “WE SHALL 
REIGN ON THE EARTH” (v. 10). The angels also about 
the throne exalt the Lamb, saying: 


“Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, 
and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honor, and 
glory, and blessing” (v. 12). 


And, since the hour drew near that was awaited by the whole 
creation, that under the curse of sin had been groaning and 
travailing in pain together (Rom. 8: 18-25), the Seer declares: 


“Every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, 
and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all 
that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honor, and 
glory, and power, be unto Him that sitteth upon the 
throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever. And the 
four living creatures said, Amen. And the four and 
twenty elders fell down and worshiped Him that liveth 
Tor ever and ever,’ (ch. 5:13,/14)). 


Such then were the scenes and events in heaven as they ap- 
peared to the Seer in the vision. 


CHAPTER XV 
THE FOUR HORSES AND THEIR RIDERS 


The Opening of the Seals 


But as the Lamb proceéded to open the seals and thus to 
present before the throne the evidence contained in the book 
to establish the fact that 


“The earth and the fulness with which it is stored, 
The world and its dwellers belong to the Lord,” 


the attention of the Seer is directed to a very different scene 
that is being enacted on the earth: 


“And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, 
and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the 
four living creatures saying, Come and see. And I saw, 
and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him hada 
bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went 
forth conquering and to conquer” (ch. 6:1, 2). 


The Horses Signify Human Systems; the Riders Are Satanic 
Agents 


In contrast with all that John saw in heaven this scene is 
entirely natural and earthly. And in the imagery of Scripture 
the horse symbolizes material and earthly systems or organiza- 
tions or agencies, rather than such as are spiritual and heavenly. 
A white horse is significant also of an organization being em- 
ployed for the accomplishment of purposes that are right, just, 
pure and peaceful. Many earnest students of prophecy, there- 
fore, consider the white horse and its rider as the representative 
of the true and faithful gospel messenger going forth to win 
the victories of peace. However, the rider on this horse is 
armed with the bow of a warrior, the material weapon of 

178 


THE FOUR HORSES AND THEIR RIDERS _ 179 


earthly and carnal potentates. To him also is given the victor’s 
crown. Both of these things suggest conflict and conquest, 
agreeable to the announcement: “He went forth conquering and 
to conquer,”’ if necessary by strife and combat. 


Gospel Messengers Not Armed With Bows 


Gospel messengers are indeed warriors; their armor is de- 
scribed (Eph. 6: 11-17), and their weapon is the sword of the 
Spirit which is the Word of God. It is the same sharp two- 
edged sword that went out of the mouth of the Glorified Son of 
Man as He appeared to John in the vision. Christ has neither 
commanded nor does He permit His soldiers to use any other 
weapon when on the mission for which He sends them forth. 
The rider on the white horse does not tally with any description 
of a gospel messenger to be found in the Bible. He is armed 
with a bow and he has no need for the sandals of peace on his 
feet for he travels on horseback. Further, as gospel messengers 
are sent forth as sheep among wolves (Matt. 10:16), it might 
be expected that the more valiant of them would win for them- 
selves a martyr’s crown, rather than that they should go forth 
conquering and to conquer, wearing a victor’s crown (steph- 
anos ),—the crown that is laid up for the righteous (2 Tim. 
4:8), and that will be neither possessed nor worn until after 
the good fight of faith is finished. 


Religious Deceivers and Fakirs 


This rider then is the symbol of the false Christs, the false 
prophets, the religious fakirs of whom many hypocritically lay 
claim to the name Christian; and that he appears mounted on a 
white horse is what might be expected and should deceive no 
one. Paul warns the Church against false apostles and deceit- 
ful workers transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ, 
and he declares, “It is no marvel; for Satan himself is trans- 
formed into an angel of light. Therefore, it is no great thing 
if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of right- 
eousness ; whose end shall be according to their works” (2 Cor. 
II: 13-15; Matt. 24: 4-8). Whenever Satan can hope to gain 
his end by hypocrisy, fraud and deceit, he will never fail to use 


180 IS THE KINGDOM AGE AT HAND? 


that method, but will run true to form. The rider on the white 
horse then is the Devil’s agent going forth in opposition to the 
gospel of the Son of God to fill the earth with false religions 
such as Mohammedanism, Buddhism, Mormonism, Christian 
Science, Russelism and kindred religious systems that enable 
Jews and Gentiles, infidels and even professed Christians to 
worship at the same altar, and that have been so abundant and 
so wonderfully successful in every period of the world’s history. 


War, Famine, Pestilence, Murder, and Anarchy 


“And when he had opened the second seal, I heard the 
second living creature say, Come and see. And there 
went out another horse that was red; and power was 
given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, 
and that they should kill one another; and there was given 
unto him a great sword” (ch. 6: 3, 4). 


This red horse is symbolic of war which is another agency 
of the Devil. It arises from hatred, envy, jealousy, selfishness, 
wrong ambitions and the love of money which is the root of all 
evil. Few expositors have mistaken the figure here which is 
generally understood to signify war with all that follow in its 
train,—bloodshed, famine, pestilence, murder and anarchy, 
these are the things that are represented in the red horse and 
its rider who had power to take peace from the earth and to 
kill with the sword. 


Commercial Greed and Oppression of the Poor 


“And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the 
third living creature say, Come and see. And I beheld, 
and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair 
of balances in his hand. And I heard a voice in the midst 
of the four living creatures say, A measure of wheat for 
a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and 
see thou hurt not the oil and the wine” (ch. 6:5, 6). 


The black horse is commonly understood to be symbolic of 
famine, and many eloquent sermons have been preached with 
these verses as the text. But in famine, per se, there is no evil. 
It may result from war or from the waste of one’s substance 


THE FOUR HORSES AND THEIR RIDERS 181 


or from idleness or from natural causes such as drought, frost, 
excessive heat, etc., but while it may be and often is a conse- 
quent of evil yet it is not evil in itself. 

However, without exception, the horses in this vision and the 
riders are all satanic agents. They represent positive wicked- 
ness of various kinds. The white horse stands for what is 
right, just, pure and peaceful, and is used in this connection 
simply to make more emphatic the hypocrisy and deceit of 
Satan. The black horse stands for the very opposite of what 
the white horse signifies. It represents wrong, injustice, cor- 
ruption and oppression. Its rider has in his hand a pair of 
balances, the symbol of trade, of business, of commerce; and 
the kind of business being transacted in this scene is that which 
wrongs and oppresses the poor, while it deals also dishonestly 
and corruptly with the rich even though it caters to their de- 
sires, and fawningly gratifies their wishes for the sake of their 
trade and the money that is in it for the seller (Hos. 12:7; 
Prov. 14:31). 


Crooked Business, and Deceitful Methods 


In one of the ten visions of the prophet Zechariah, the num- 
ber ten representing the imperfect and generally the wicked 
works of men, there was seen the ephah, the measure of com- 
merce, with a woman sitting in it. It was sealed also with a 
lead weight, another symbol of trade, and was carried with 
wings like a stork between heaven and earth. The prophet was 
informed, “This is WICKEDNESS” (Zech. 5:8). 

There is business that is worthy a Christian man; it is 
honest and honorable; and one can be diligent in business, 
fervent in spirit, serving the Lord. But that is not the kind 
of business conducted by the rider on the black horse. The 
use he made of the balances in his hand caused a voice in the 
midst of the four living creatures indignantly to exclaim: 


“A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures 
of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and 
the wine.” 


At that time a penny, the Roman denarius worth 20c, was the 
equivalent of a full day’s wages for the ordinary laborer (Matt. 


182 IS THE KINGDOM AGE AT HAND? 


20: 1-14). A measure of wheat, or three measures of barley, 
the latter a grain of inferior food value, was the daily consump- 
tion needed for each person. Here then is the laborer being 
defrauded, and the poor among them, especially those with 
families, being greatly oppressed. What if they do receive the 
normal wage when the price of the necessaries of life is in- 
flated until it requires a full day’s pay to provide for a single 
day’s requirements for one person! 


Fawning Avarice Favoring the Rich 

On the other hand oil and wine were luxuries in which only 
the rich could indulge. They were also articles of merchandise 
used as mediums of exchange with which taxes and other 
obligations could be paid, and in which capitalists could invest 
their wealth. Hence these articles of commerce must be kept 
on hand to gratify the tastes and minister to the whims of those 
who could afford luxuries for themselves, and they were not to 
be hurt; for while it was all right according to the ethics of 
such business to wrong and oppress the laborer, it would never 
do to harm the investments or to lessen the wealth of capitalists. 
The black horse and his rider, therefore, represent crooked 
business such as will not stand the light of investigation, and 
when weighed in the balances it will be found wanting in every 
element of truth, justice, righteousness and equity; for this 
business is wickedness. 


Irreligion, Immorality and Evil Companions 


“And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the 
voice of the fourth living creature say, Come and see. 
And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that 
sat on him was Death, and Hades followed with him. 
And power was given unto them over the fourth part of 
the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with 
apie Cas ere and with the beasts of the earth” (ch. 


7) 


“As righteousness tendeth to life,” said the wise man, “so 
he that pursueth evil, pursueth it to his own death” (Prov. 
11:19). And there are three evils mentioned in Scripture that 
tend to shorten life and that tend to bring one quickly down to 


THE FOUR HORSES AND THEIR RIDERS 183 


sheol or hades: (1) Covetousness which is idolatry (Num. 
16: 29-33; Prov. 1: 11-19); (2) Immorality (Prov. 7: 5-27) ; 
and (3) the choice of godless and immoral companions (Prov. 
9: 13-18; 23:2-35). By these evils, Death the rider on the 
pale horse with Hades following him has power over the fourth 
part of the earth, the fourth part signifying a portion in every 
quarter of the earth, to kill, impoverish, enslave the soul, and 
to cause men and women, as outcasts of society, to perish with 
the beasts of the earth. 


The World Under Satan’s Control 


The opening of these four seals include the entire world 
period from the ascension of Christ to the end of the times 
of the Gentiles. During all of this time Satan, as the prince of 
the powers of the air, works in the children of disobedience, 
and thus is able to accomplish his will on earth, even as in the 
days of Job, to the full limit of divine permission (Job 1: 8-12; 
2:1-6). This period, therefore, is of peculiar interest to the 
four living creatures in heaven who watch over the affairs of 
earth, and of all flesh dwelling therein that are parties to the 
Rainbow Covenant. Hence it is the living creatures that in each 
case call the Seer’s attention to the work that Satan has been 
carrying out on the earth, especially since the days of Christ’s 
ascension, and in which he is still engaged. The white horse 
together with the red, black and pale horses, four in all which 
is the earth number, represent agencies employed and directed 
by Satan the usurper; and whatever is accomplished by these 
agencies must be understood to be his response here on the 
earth to the scene being enacted before the judgment throne in 
heaven. 


Satanic Opposition to the Reign of the Christ 


Since it is Christ’s desire, plan and method to win the world 
by the truth and by pure religion Satan opposes with lies and 
with false religions; since Christ would bestow peace on the 
earth and teach men to love one another, Satan stirs up wars 
and sets his followers to killing one another; since Christ would 
establish righteousness, kindliness and justice among men in 


184 IS THE KINGDOM AGE AT HAND? 


their dealings one with another, the Devil promotes wickedness, 
oppression and injustice; since Christ would give life and de- 
sires that men should have the more abundant life, Satan sends 
forth Death and Hades, over which for the present he has the 
power, and directs them to kill with sword, with hunger, with 
spiritual death and with the beasts of the earth. 

Such then is the response of the Devil to the purpose of the 
ascended Lord to take possession of the earth, and to rule over 
it with justice and with equity. And Satan has been making 
use of all these agencies in each century of this present evil age 
even as Jesus predicted he would, and Jesus adds this further 
significant information, The end is not yet; “All these things 
are the beginning of sorrows” (Matt. 24: 4-8). 


Not Events, But Characteristics of the Age Are Described 

These horses, therefore, represent no one particular event of 
the kind as occurring at some certain date either past, present 
or future, in the history of the world. Rather they indicate the 
characteristics of the entire present age, and these characteris- 
tics may be expected to become even worse as the end 
approaches. 

Just before the close of this world age wickedness will reach 
its culmination under the reign of the Antichrist, in whom the 
Devil will become incarnate even as the Godhead became in- 
carnate in the Man Christ Jesus. At that time the rider on the 
white horse will be the Antichrist himself as the head of the 
whole iniquitous system of idolatrous worship; then also Anti- 
christ, as the rider on the red horse of war, will lead his follow- 
ers to Armageddon, the battlefield of the satanic armies that 
take peace from the earth, and glory in that they should kill 
one another; then the rider, also, on the black horse of wrong, 
injustice, oppression and commercial greed will be the repre- 
sentative of that great city of trade and merchandise, Babylon, 
the Capital of the Antichrist, which will have become the habita- 
tion of demons, and the hold of every foul spirit, and’a cage 
of every unclean and hateful bird,—a city in connection with 
which the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the 
abundance of her delicacies; and then also the rider, Death, on 
the pale horse with Hades following him, will be recognized in 


rt ipa noua 


THE FOUR HORSES AND THEIR RIDERS _ 185 


MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER 
OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE 
EARTH with whom the kings of the earth have committed 
fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made 
drunk with the wine of her fornication,—even that woman 
drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the 
martyrs of Jesus; and to behold her will be a cause of wonder 
to the righteous; for her house is the way to sheol, or hades, 
going down to the chambers of death. 


CHAPTER XVI 
THE LATTER DAYS 


Divine Intervention 


Thus in the last end of this present evil age satanic misrule 
and wickedness will have reached their climax, and then there 
will be divine intervention to put an end to the whole system of 
abominations. This divine intervention will occur in connection 
with the opening of the last three seals. This event will take 
place during the last seven years of this age, and the time of 
the beginning will be indicated by the outpouring of divine 
judgments. And (1) there will be judgments tempered with 
mercy, and when these are abroad in the earth, the inhabitants 
of the world will learn righteousness. Then (2) there will be 
just judgments without mercy, the great tribulation that will 
continue probably for three and a half years and end with the 
Day of the Lord and the utter destruction of all impenitent 
sinners whom neither love nor judgments have reclaimed from 
their evil ways. Immediately following these judgments there 
will be the return of Jesus Christ to reign in Person on the 
earth over the nations and to rule them with justice and with 
equity. 


The Present Evil Age Ends With Daniels Seventieth (Year) 
Week 

There is mention in Scripture of the dispensation of the 
grace of God, or the Church age; also of the times of the Gen- 
tiles, or the world age which to the very end will continue to 
be characterized by false religions, wars, the oppression of the 
poor, and the reign of death as taught under the first four seals. 
Neither the Church nor the world age has as yet ended, and so 
God’s people Israel are still cast away. They are not given any 

186 


THE LATTER DAYS 187 


consideration whatever in this prophecy under the opening of 
the first four seals. However, at the end of the period de- 
scribed as the dispensation of the grace of God, or at the end 
of the Church age, wickedness will have reached its full con- 
summation both in the Church and in the world. The Holy 
Spirit will then be withdrawn; the True Church will hear the 
last gospel trump and be caught up in the clouds to meet the 
Lord in the air; the remaining Visible Church will then wholly 
apostatize, and the world will have formally accepted the Anti- 
christ as its king and its god. Even the nation of Israel, which 
in its blindness and unbelief will have at that time returned to 
Palestine, will be in league with Antichrist from whom it will 
secure national recognition, and the permission to worship the 
God of its fathers according to all the requirements of the law 
of Moses. 

After the close of the Church age, or the dispensation of the 
grace of God, and for all the remaining period of the times of 
the Gentiles, in all seven years, or Daniel’s Seventieth Week, 
there will be the period mentioned by the prophets of Israel as 
“the latter days,” or “the time of the end.” The opening of the 
fifth seal marks the beginning of “the latter days’””’ when God 
will again deal with His Covenant people Israel under the 
trumpet judgments, and as a result that people will once again 
be grafted into their own olive tree (Rom. 11: 13-36). During 
the same time God will settle His controversy with the Gentile 
nations, or apostate Christendom, under the bowl judgments 
with the final results that Gentile world power will be crushed 
and broken, and these nations will be compelled to bow the 
knee to Jesus Christ, and to acknowledge and submit to Him 
as their Lord. 


Satan’s Resources at an End 

With the opening of the fifth seal Satan’s resources, the 
riders on the four horses, that are now being used in opposition 
to this earth being taken possession of by Christ, will be at an 
end. They will every one of them be employed to the full 
limit of power that is permitted unto Satan. As in the days 
when Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses for the purpose of 
deceiving the Egyptians so that they would not suspect the 


188 IS THE KINGDOM AGE AT HAND? 


real cause of their trouble and seek the true remedy, and further 
to encourage Pharaoh in his mad resistance to the will of God 
(Ex. 7: 11, 22; 8:7, 18, 19), so, for the purpose of deceiving 
the nations, Satan is today employing all his resources in oppo- 
sition to God’s will. But, however successfully these agencies 
may be used for the allotted time here on the earth, they are 
doomed to fail, and not for one moment will they prevent the 
carrying out of God’s will in the fulness of time agreeable to 
His plans and purpose. 


“The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers 
take counsel together, against Jehovah and His Christ, 
saying, Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away 
their cords from us.” 

“He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh; the Lord 
shall have them in derision. Then shall He speak unto 
them in His wrath, and vex them in His sore displeas- 
ure) \(Ps,'2:2-5); 


In heaven the work of opening the seals of the book, the 
title deed to the earth, will continue without any regard to 
satanic opposition here on the earth. But with the opening of 
the remaining three seals, three being the number of the Trinity 
and of divine work, it is God’s voice and divine agencies, and 
not human agencies controlled by Satan, that arrest the atten- 
tion of the Seer who records for our learning what next ap- 
peared to him in the vision. 


At the Cry of Martyred Saints God Ariseth, Ps. rath 


“And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under 
the altar the souls of them that were slain for the Word 
of God, and for the testimony which they held: And they 
cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy 
and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on 
them that dwell on the earth? And white robes were 
given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, 
that they should rest yet for a little season, until their 
fellow servants also and their brethren, that should be 
killed as they were, should be fulfilled” (ch. 6: 9-11). 


These martyrs are evidently the victims of Satan’s malice 
during the whole period included in the opening of the first 


THE LATTER DAYS 189 


four seals. They have not yet shared resurrection joy and 
blessedness, but are still “souls under the altar.” And even as 
the blood of Abel, whom Cain slew, cried unto Jehovah from 
the ground (Gen. 4:10), so now the blood of these martyrs 
cried to God to avenge their wrongs. At that time, for reasons 
already given, there will be none but Jehovah to Whom the 
oppressed could appeal, and He will not fail those who trust 
in Him. Rather He has declared: 


“For the oppression of the poor, for the sighing of the 
needy, now will I arise, saith Jehovah; I will set him in . 
safety from him that puffeth at him” (Ps. 12). 


And significantly the psalmist adds: “The words of Jehovah 
are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified 
seven times.” God’s words were trusted and tried by these 
martyrs even in the furnace of earth. Now the time has come, 
with the opening of the fifth seal, for God to arise and avenge 
them. Hence, to these souls under the altar, the white robes, 
significant of the righteousness of the saints, is awarded, and it 
is promised that in a little season, their fellowservants and 
brethren will likewise win their crowns as martyrs, and then 
will follow the time of reward. 

In the face of this as yet unfulfilled prophecy of God’s word 
let none of His children be so foolish as to imagine that the 
days of the martyrs have passed and gone for ever. Under the 
reign of the Antichrist, as it has been revealed, there are multi- 
tudes who shall yet be slain for the Word of God and for the 
testimony which they hold. 


The Martyrs of the Jewish Nation 


Among Christian expositors it is generally understood that 
those slain for the Word of God and for the testimony which 
they held are the martyrs of Jesus. But the Scriptures do not 
so declare, and care should be taken not to add to what is found 
written in this prophecy. The fact that the souls of these 
martyrs are seen under the altar which is as distinctively a 
Jewish institution as the Cross of Calvary is a Christian institu- 
tion; and the further fact that no mention is here made of the 
Lamb of God, nor is it said of these martyrs, as of those who 


190 IS THE KINGDOM AGE AT HAND? 


came out of the great tribulation, that they had washed their 
robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb,—such 
facts point to the conclusion that these are Jewish rather than 
Christian martyrs. 

It must not be overlooked that while the Church will be 
_ judged under the New Covenant in Christ’s blood, and while 

the world will be judged under the Rainbow Covenant, on the 
other hand the natural seed of Abraham will be judged under 
its own Covenant. Further, it is revealed that God still greatly 
loves Israel (Jer. 31:20, 21), and while concerning the gospel 
they are enemies for the sake of the Gentile Church, yet as 
touching the election they are beloved for the fathers’ sake 
(Rom. 11:28). “Blindness in part is happened to Israel until 
the fulness of the Gentiles be come in”; but even in their blind- 
ness as regards the truth of the gospel, multitudes of that 
people, in every century of this present age, have been true to 
the faith of their fathers; they have obeyed the law of Moses 
as far as it was within their power so to do, and they have laid 
down their lives rather than to abandon their testimony or to 
depart from the Word of God (Old Testament) to Whom they 
looked and in Whom they trusted for deliverance. Such then 
are the martyrs under the altar who were slain for the Word of 
God and for the testimony which they held. Although this was 
not the testimony of Jesus accepted by them as their Messiah 
nevertheless it was the testimony of their Messiah Whom they 
have not recognized in Jesus. 


Under This Seal Judgments Are Not Mentioned 


And connected with the opening of this fifth seal, five being 
the number of human incompleteness and insufficiency, there 
is no mention of the judgments that will be visited upon that 
nation and which will begin at the very time this seal is opened. 
God’s purpose in sending these judgments on Israel is not 
so much of the nature of punishment, such as is visited upon 
criminals, as it is of chastisement, such as is visited upon a 
child, and as a result this nation will be brought to repentance. 

In contrast also with the judgments that will be poured out 
upon the world, every one of those sent upon Israel will be 
tempered with mercy as is very evident to those who study the 


THE LATTER DAYS 191 


trumpet-judgments. Further, under the reign and cruel despot- 
ism of the Antichrist, multitudes more of the natural seed of 
Abraham will be slain for their faith in Jehovah their God; 
hence the martyrs already under the altar of the Jewish religion, 
who during all the past centuries have been slaughtered by the 
people of different nations, and killed chiefly for the crime of 
being Jews, are required to wait yet for a little season, seven 
years at most, until their fellowservants, the Israelites, and 
their brethren, the Jews, should be killed also even as they 
were for the Word of God and for the testimony which they 
hold. 


Earth-Inhabtters Terrified by Divine Judgments 


“And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, 
lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became 
black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood; 
and the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig 
tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a 
mighty wind. And the heaven departed as a scroll when 
it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were 
moved out of their places. And the kings of the earth, 
and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief cap- 
tains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every 
free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of 
the mountains; and said to the mountains and rocks, Fall 
on us, and hide us from the face of Him that sitteth on 
the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb; for the great 
day of His wrath is come; and who shall be able to 
stand?” (ch. 6: 12-17). 


That such a terrible catastrophic judgment will be appalling 
all will admit without need to argue. It is a scene, however, 
with which Bible readers generally are familiar. Jesus Him- 
self forewarned His hearers concerning this very time con- 
nected with the opening of these seals in His Olivet discourse 
(Matt. 24: 15-31), and He furnished details of several events 
which are plainly to be inferred, although they are not specifi- 
cally mentioned by His servant John in what he records in this 
portion of the Revelation. How great the terror that will then 
take possession of earth’s inhabitants from the kings on their 
thrones to the very lowest of their subjects is revealed. They 


192 IS THE KINGDOM AGE AT HAND? 


will seek to hide themselves and even pray in their fright to 
inanimate objects to fall on them and hide them in that great 
day of the wrath of the Lamb with which this evil age will end. 

Among all accusers there is none more unrelenting than a 
GUILTY CONSCIENCE whose voice of warning (Rom. 
2:15), has been despised and neglected by the wicked in the 
day of their prosperity until it has become seared (1 Tim. 4:2). 
However, in their day of calamity they will listen to what that 
same conscience has to say, and there will be no need then of 
other witnesses to convince them of their guilt that calls for 
deserved punishment. ‘Thus physical death would be welcome 
indeed if only it would hide them from the face of Him that 
sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb. 


CHAPTER XVII 
GOD’S SERVANTS AND THE PALM-BEARERS 


The Four Angels Holding the Four Winds 


The vision included in the sixth seal comes down to the vety 
moment when the Day of the Lord is about to complete the 
terrific judgments that for seven years will have kept the 
inhabitants of the earth in terror. Speaking of this time Jesus 
said: 


“There shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and 
in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with 
perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; men’s hearts 
failing them for fear, and for looking after those things 
which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven 
shall be shaken” (Lk. 21:25, 26). 


Following this sixth vision, the Seer continues: 


“And after these things I saw four angels standing on 
the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of 
the earth, that the winds should not blow upon the earth, 
nor on the sea, nor on any tree” (ch. 7:1). 


Everywhere in Scripture the winds are revealed as divine 
agents and used either for blessings or for judgments (Ex. 
m4 ers 152103; Num), 19 :\313 isa.) 27'S) a bere, the, four 
winds are significant of judgments which for the time, the four 
angels are holding back to permit of the Seer having a vision 
of something quite different. Four is the earth number, and 
the four winds indicate the complete and final judgments of 
wrath that will be visited on the earth when the seventh seal is 
opened to be followed immediately by the sounding of the 
seventh trumpet, and the pouring out of the seventh bowl of 
the wrath of God which judgments introduce The Great Day 


193 


194 IS THE KINGDOM AGE AT HAND? 


of the Lord. That Day will bring to an end the great 
tribulation : 


“Tt shall be one day (only one) which shall be known to 
the Lord, not day nor night: but it shall come to pass, 
that at evening time it shall be light... . And the Lord 
shall be King over all the earth: in that day there shall be 
one Lord, and His name one” (Zech. 14:7-9). 


Ewil Overruled for Good 


The purpose of holding back the revelation of the judgments 
of that last day of wrath is to permit a vision of consolation in 
which it is revealed to the Seer that while God is not in the 
judgments (1 Kings 19:11), yet He nevertheless sends, con- 
trols and overrules them. Thus “He makes all things work 
together for good to them that love God, to them that are the 
called according to His purpose” (Rom. 8:28). It is thus, 
also, that God brings good out of evil; that He makes the very 
wrath of men to praise Him, and the remainder of wrath He 
restrains (Ps. 76:10). The judgments which these four 
angels are holding back are shown in connection with the sound- . 
ing of the seven trumpets and the pouring out of the seven 
bowls of the wrath of God. 


The Servants of God to be Sealed 


“And I saw another angel ascending from the east, 
having the seal of the living God: and he cried with a loud 
voice to the four angels, to whom it was given to hurt 
the earth and the sea, saying, Hurt not the earth, neither 
the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of 
our God in their foreheads. And I heard the number of 
them which were sealed: and there were sealed an hun- 
dred and forty and four thousand of all the tribes of the 
children of Israel” (ch. 7:2-4). 


From verses 5-8 it is shown that these servants of God are 
selected from each of the twelve tribes of Israel with the ex- 
ception of Dan for which tribe there is substituted the tribe of 
Manasseh, the son of Joseph. Thus the full number of twelve 
tribes is complete as follows: Judah, Reuben, Gad, Asher, 
Naphtali, Manasseh, Simeon, Levi, Issachar, Zebulun, Joseph, 


GOD’S SERVANTS AND THE PALM-BEARERS 195 


and Benjamin. The omission of the tribe of Dan has proved a 
great puzzle to expositors some of whom would solve the diffi- 
culty after the method of destructive critics who assume that 
whatever they are unable to explain is an interpolation, “a 
fragment of Jewish apocalypse incorporated by some Christian 
writer.” After this fashion some would get rid of Rev. 7: 1-8. 
Others offer explanations that are nothing more than guesswork 
and no attempt is made either to support or to justify them by 
an appeal to Scripture. The following Scriptural explanation 
of the difficulty is therefore submitted : 


Jacob’s Dying Blessing Concerning Dan 

The patriarch Jacob when on his death bed gathered his sons 
together about him to make known to each one of them that 
which should befall him “Jn the last days.’ And upon Dan 
Jacob pronounced a blessing which to explain has also taxed 
the ingenuity of guesswork expositors. “Dan shall judge his 
people as one of the tribes of Israel,” said Jacob. This pre- 
dicted for Dan “in the last days” a most unusual position and 
honor. It was nothing less than the reward which in the days 
of His earthly ministry Jesus offered to His Jewish hearers 
when He declared: ‘Verily I say unto you, That ye which have 
followed Me, in the regeneration (paligenesia, “re-creation,” 
or “making new”) when the Son of Man shall sit in the throne 
of His glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the 
twelve tribes of Israel’ (Matt. 19:28). Such is therefore the 
promised reward of Christ’s followers, and that is exactly what 
Jacob predicted for Dan. Further, it was said of Dan: “He 
shall be a serpent by the way.” It was a serpent that Moses 
was commanded to lift up in the wilderness, and to look upon 
it meant life to every one that was bitten (Num. 21: 8,9). And 
“by the way,” in the journey toward the last days, Dan was to 
be a serpent, a witness to Christ and to His saving power like 
the one Moses lifted up, and in the same manner that the Son 
of Man must be lifted up (John 3:14). Again, Dan was to 
be “an adder in the path, that biteth the horse heels, so that his 
rider shall fall backward.” The figure suggests that the tribe 
of Dan by becoming Christian was in a position to attack suc- 


196 IS THE KINGDOM AGE AT HAND? 


cessfully the Jewish ceremonial ritual, symbolized as the horse 
or human agency on which Israel thought to ride to spiritual 
victory, and to unhorse the rider by winning these their brethren 
to Christ. Hence Jacob’s blessing of Dan closes with these 
significant words: “I have waited for Thy salvation, O Jeho- 
vah” (Gen. 49: 16-18). 

Writers who have attempted to trace the lost ten tribes of 
Israel have met with but little success. Yet they seem to agree 
that the Danish people, of uncertain origin, inhabitants of Den- 
mark, are the descendants of Dan. It is claimed that in their 
wandering in search of a home that this tribe, after being freed 
from captivity, traveled across Europe, naming different places 
and rivers, the Danube for example, according to their custom, 
after their father (Josh. 19:47), and that being naturally a 
maritime people (Judges 5:17), this tribe found the country 
of Denmark suited to their desires and settled there. That 
nation, the Danes, is today Protestant Lutherans, and one of 
the great mercantile marine people. 

However, that the Danes were originally Danites has not 
been proved conclusively and may never be. But altogether 
aside from this interesting bit of speculation regarding that 
tribe, the truth of Scripture remains which predicts for the 
Danites the position, honor and reward of Christians. That 
people, therefore, would no longer be numbered with the tribes 
of Israel, and so Manasseh, the son of Joseph, takes their place 
in the list. And possibly for a like reason the tribe of Levi, 
which was not to be numbered among the tribes of Israel (Num. 
1:49, 50; 3: 11-13), but which proved unfaithful to its high 
calling, is included in the list, while Ephraim, the younger son 
of Joseph, to whom Jacob gave the first born’s blessing, guiding 
his hands wittingly so that his arms formed the Cross when he 
blessed the lads (Gen. 46: 13, 14, 17-19), is not to be found in 
that list. Whether accepted or rejected this explanation has 
the merit at least of being suggested by the Scriptures. 


The Sealing of the Servants of God 


The sealing or marking of Christians today is not so much 
for the purpose of identification as it is for protection. It is 


GOD’S SERVANTS AND THE PALM-BEARERS 197 


the work of the Holy Spirit by Whom all true believers in 
Christ are sealed unto the day of redemption. What may be 
the exact nature of this work is not known, although it very 
probably includes the indwelling of the Spirit in those who are 
Sealed''(2'Cor, 1: 22; Eph, 1:13; 42/30); 

In that day, however, the sealing, whatever be its nature, is 
“in the forehead,” where it may be seen by all. That means 
that at that time the servants of God will receive some outward 
mark, probably “the anointing oil” required by the Mosaic 
ritual that will identify the sealed ones to all who behold them 
as those who worship the God of Israel. Thus they will be 
distinguished from those who are marked with the number of 
the Beast, and who worship his image. But in any case it is 
evident that these servants of God are those Israelites who cling 
to the orthodox faith of their fathers, and to whom Paul 
probably referred when he spoke of “the remnant out of 
Israel” (Rom. 11: 1-5), who were faithful to covenant obliga- 
tions in so far as these requirements of the law of Moses were 
understood by them. 


The Number of Sealed Ones 


And John heard the number of those that were sealed: One 
hundred and forty-four thousand out of all the tribes of the 
children of Israel. That number is the product of twelve 
thousand sealed ones in each of the twelve tribes mentioned by 
name in the list given. The number twelve stands for God’s 
perfect work and being multiplied by itself, and again by one 
thousand clearly indicates that the number one hundred and 
forty-four thousand is used symbolically rather than definitely; 
hence the number of sealed ones signifies both perfection and 
completion. In some of the tribes the number might be more 
than twelve thousand and in others less, but in each tribe there 
will be the full number sealed to which none will be added and 
from which not one will be omitted; for when the angels have 
finished their appointed work of sealing the servants of God 
in their foreheads, the work will be perfectly and completely 
accomplished. And be it remembered that these sealed oneg 
are taken out of all the tribes of the children of Israel. 


198 IS THE KINGDOM AGE AT HAND? 


A Great Unnumbered Multitude 


“After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which 
no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and 
peoples, and tongues, stood before the throne, and be- 
fore the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in 
their hands; and cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation 
to our God Who sitteth upon the throne, and unto the 
Lamb. And all the angels stood about the throne, and 
about the elders and the four living creatures, and fell 
before the throne on their faces, and worshiped God, say- 
ing, Amen: Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanks- 
giving, and honor, and power, and might, be unto our 
God for ever and ever; Amen” (ch. 7:9-12). 


Jesus declared, “There is more joy in heaven over one sinner 
that repenteth, than over ninety and nine just persons, which 
need no repentance.” And that unnumbered multitude consisted 
every one of them of penitent sinners. It is little wonder then 
that the joy of the angels was unbounded and that it could 
find appropriate expression only as they prostrated themselves 
before the throne and worshiped God; for they recognized who 
this great multitude were, and they knew how they came to be 
in heaven before the throne and before the Lamb. 


The Palm-Bearing, Wlute-Robed Redeemed 


“And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What 
are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence 
came they? And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And 
he said to me, These are they which came out of great 
tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them 
white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore are they be- 
fore the throne of God. and serve Him day and night 
in His temple; and He that sitteth on the throne shall 
dwell among them” (ch. 7:13-15). 


John was unable to answer the question of the elder con- 
cerning the white robed, palm-bearing multitude, and the in- 
formation he received was a further revelation to him of the 
incomprehensible love of God and of the riches of divine grace. 
This great multitude, who through their own carelessness and 
spiritual indifference had been left behind when the True Church 
had been caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, 
and who had been chastened in the great tribulation, were 


GOD’S SERVANTS AND THE PALM-BEARERS 199 


nevertheless in heaven among the redeemed. And to think that 
that unnumbered multitude who were saved just before this 
present evil age ended,—saved so as by fire (1 Cor. 3:15), will 
be only a part of those who are saved by grace through the blood 
of the Lamb. These all have their place in heaven as God’s 
servants although they neglected to secure for themselves the 
higher rewards of glory when they had the opportunity. 


Saints Who Like Thomas Believe Only What They See 


After godly fathers and mothers, husbands and wives, sons 
and daughters, brothers and sisters, are caught up to meet the 
Lord in the air just before the judgments are sent on the earth 
(Lk. 17: 34-37); and after these godly ones have suddenly 
disappeared from their homes without leaving behind them a 
word of explanation ; and after relatives, neighbors and friends, 
unable to find any trace of them, have given up the search in 
despair of ever being able to locate them, or to explain their 
disappearance, then many such will recall to mind the 
BLESSED HOPE which these loved ones cherished, about 
which they often spoke one to another, and in which they tried 
to interest others, but with little success, and possibly only to 
be laughed at as extremists or ridiculed as fanatics. 

The truth will then flash upon the mind of these persons, 
of whom many will be themselves lukewarm professors of 
Christ; they will understand and realize just what has hap- 
pened, and then also they too will sincerely accept the truth so 
plainly taught in Scripture, but which like other supernatural 
events seemed so improbable that they preferred to reason 
themselves into infidelity rather than to walk by faith. Asa 
result they will become truly converted and give themselves 
whole-heartedly unto the Lord, trusting in the precious blood 
and enlisting in His service with only the regret that they had 
neglected so to do when first they accepted Jesus as their Lord 
and Saviour. 


Martyrs of the Tribulation Period 

It will be their turn then to be laughed at and ridiculed be- 
cause of their faith and hope and practical godliness. But 
they will refuse to be turned aside, and living godly in Christ 


200 IS THE KINGDOM AGE AT HAND? 


Jesus they shall suffer persecution at the hands of Antichrist 
and the false prophet and at the hands of those who have the 
mark of the Beast on their foreheads whom they have stead- 
fastly opposed, and whom they have exhorted to repent while 
yet there was time. In rendering this service for Christ and 
for humanity, as the result of their faith they are said “to have 
washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the 
Lamb.” 

But in addition to those who formerly were lukewarm pro- 
fessors there will be multitudes who had never made any profes- 
sion of Christ; rather they made excuses whenever they were 
asked to accept the offers of salvation, and they were content 
to live godless and wicked lives. These persons were hardened 
against the gospel; but divine judgments will bring them to 
repentance and to the confession of their sins. Then like the 
publican they will cry to God for mercy and look to Jesus for 
help and deliverance, and He will save them also, yet so as by 
fire. 

Of these redeemed ones many will be slain during the tribu- 
lation period for Christ’s sake; thus they will win for them- 
selves a martyr’s crown and a place of honor and reward in 
the Kingdom, and some may even fulfil the prediction of Jesus 
when He said, “Of a truth I say unto you, there are last that 
shall be first, and there are first that shall be last”? (Lk. 13:30). 

Satan’s malicious and abominable works of iniquity will be 
continued down to the very end of this present age. But on 
the other hand during the opening of the last three seals the 
wicked devices of the Devil will be brought to naught by the 
divine judgments that then will be visited upon the earth. In 
connection with the sounding of the trumpets and the pouring 
out of the bowls of the wrath of Almighty God, the character 
of these judgments is revealed, and one of their results at least 
is shown in this vision of consolation in which appear a multi- 
tude of the redeemed which no man could number, out of 
all nations and kindred and peoples and tongues, . . . clothed 
with white robes, and palms in their hands. 


Godliness Is Great Gain 
Concerning these white robed palm-bearers 1t was declared: 


GOD’S SERVANTS AND THE PALM-BEARERS 201 


“They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; 
neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat. For 
the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed 
them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: 
and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes” (ch. 


AION 7 


The advice given by Jesus to all who are much concerned 
and even anxious about what they shall eat and drink, and 
about the raiment they shall put on is, “Seek ye first the King- 
dom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall 
be added unto you.”’ Here then we see the promise fulfilled: 
No more hunger nor thirst ; no more suffering from the extreme 
of heat or cold, but there will be ample provision for all human 
needs under the shepherding of Jesus Christ, the Lamb Who 
is in the midst of the throne, and all tears will be wiped away 
by the hand of the loving Heavenly Father. Surely godliness 
is great gain; it has promise both for the life that now is and 
for that which is to come. 


The Opening of the Seventh Seal 


Having thus received the comforting vision in which it is 
revealed that the great heart of the Son of Man will be satisfied 
with nothing less as a reward for the travail of His soul than 
a great multitude of redeemed ones, the number of which is 
beyond the power of man to compute, and having been shown 
that this multitude will be gathered out of all nations, kindreds, 
peoples and tongues, the Seer is ready to announce the event 
which will bring to a close this present evil age: 


“And when he had opened the seventh seal, there was 
silence in heaven about the space of half an hour’ (ch. 


8:1). 


It was the breathless silence of wonder and amazement caused 
by the terrible majesty of the events that will follow close on 
the heels of the opening of this last seal. How that silence was 
broken will be learned from what has been revealed in connec- 
tion with the trumpet and bowl judgments. But before the 
vision of these last events is recorded there is yet to be revealed 


202 IS THE KINGDOM AGE AT HAND? 


God’s dealings with Israel during the latter days, or the last 
seven years of their history under the Abrahamic Covenant. 
And it is to this people who are neither Christians nor Gentiles, 
and who are to be dealt with under their own Covenant and not 
under the New Covenant in Christ’s blood, nor yet under the 
Rainbow Covenant that attention is directed at this point. 


CHAPTER XVIII 
ISRAEL “IN THE LATTER DAYS” 


The Last One of Daniel’s Seventy of Sevens 


Thus far this prophecy, in connection with the seven epistles, 
has covered the entire history of the Visible Church of Christ 
during all of the dispensation of the grace of God. That his- 
tory ends when the Church is fully ripe for apostacy, or when 
there occurs “the falling away” which the apostle makes con- 
temporary with the 


“Revelation of the lawless one (the Antichrist), who 
opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, 
or that is worshiped; so that he as God sitteth in the 
temple of God (in Jerusalem), showing himself that he 
is God” (2 Thes, 2:3, 4). 


Under the opening of the first four seals the prophecy has 
forecast the history of Gentile world power, or the times of the 
Gentiles, from the day Christ ascended to His Father to receive 
His Kingdom until the world, heedless of its day of grace and 
of opportunity, finally rejected our Lord Jesus Christ, the King 
of kings and Lord of lords, and the only true God, for the 
Antichrist who will be accepted by the world as its emperor, 
and worshiped as a being above all gods, and higher than the 
Highest. 

The day of grace will then end both for the apostate Church 
and for the godless Gentile nations of the earth. Then under 
the opening of the remaining three seals the prophecy continues 
and reveals how at that time God once again will interest Him- 
self in the natural seed of Abraham, and how by the merciful 
trumpet judgments God will chasten and so prepare Israel for 
its place and reward in the Kingdom age when every promise 
of the Abrahamic Covenant will be fulfilled to the very letter. 

203 


204 IS THE KINGDOM AGE AT HAND? 


The Altar with the Golden Censer 


“And I saw the seven angels which stood before God: 
and to them were given seven trumpets. And another 
angel came and stood at the altar, having a golden censer; 
and there was given unto him much incense, that he 
should offer it with the prayers of all the saints upon the 
golden altar which was before the throne” (ch. 8:2, 3). 


It will not be difficult to recognize this scene as typically 
Jewish: The altar, the censer and the incense all and each have 
a place in the ceremonial worship of that people (Ex. 30:7-9; 
40:26, 27). The angel, therefore, is performing here merely 
the same priestly rites as those to which Aaron was appointed, 
including the burning of a perpetual incense before the Lord 
throughout the generations. The angel at the altar probably 
is Jesus Christ the Great High Priest Who at that time will 
make intercession for the sins of Israel, offering the prayers, 
of which the incense was the A of all the Saints (Israelites ) 
upon God’s altar. 


God Had Regard to the Incense 


“And the smoke of the incense, which came with the 
prayers of the saints, ascended up before God out of the 
angel’s hand. And the angel took the censer, and filled 
it with fire of the altar, and cast it into the earth: and 
there were voices, and thunderings, and lightning, and 
an earthquake” (ch. 8:4, 5). 


During all these many centuries since the suspension of 
their Covenant, pious Jews have never ceased to offer their 
prayers to God on behalf of themselves, their people and their 
holy city Jerusalem, but God has refused to hear or regard 
the voice of their supplication (Isa. 1:15). But now Christ, 
Whom the Father heareth alway, Himself intercedes on behalf 
of Israel: therefore the incense with the prayers of the saints 
is admitted before God; and for Him to hear prayer is to 
regard and to answer the suppliant (1 John 5:15), although 
His way of answering prayer may not alway correspond with 
the expectation of the petitioner. And at this time the prayers 


ISRAEL IN THE LATTER DAYS 205 


of God’s people Israel will be answered; God will regard their 
cry and once again begin to deal with them, but at first it will 
be with the chastening of a Father in order to take away their 
sins (Heb. 12:4-8). This is suggested by the thunderings, 
lightnings, etc., suggestive of divine displeasure, reproof and 
condemnation. 


Trumpet Judgments Sent on Israel 


“And the seven angels which had the seven trumpets 
prepared themselves to sound” (ch. 8:6). 


The trumpet judgments begin with the opening of the fifth 
seal when the cry of the souls under the altar was heard by 
God. Under this seal the first four trumpet judgments will be 
visited upon Israel which at that time will have returned to 
the land of their fathers,—the land of Palestine, and they 
will have made their Covenant also with the Antichrist (Isa. 
28:15-19). That nation is to be redeemed by judgments after 
which every thing will be restored as at the first (Isa. 1 :25-28; 
10:20-27). Hence the angels with the trumpets prepared 
themselves to sound. 

Any one at all familiar with Old Testament history will 
understand at once the place and the importance of the trumpets 
both in the Mosaic ritual and also in the national life of the 
kingdoms of Israel and of Judah. The trumpets in the hand 
and at the mouth of their priests issued the divine call for that 
people to gather together for their worship and for the obsery- 
ance of their national feast days, in times of peace and in times 
of war, the trumpets assembled the fighting men to their stand- 
ards for the defense of their country. To the gospel trump 
which, under the opening of the first four seals, had been the 
divine call to the Gentiles from among whom God was to take 
out a people for His name (Acts 15:15), and only after that 
work was accomplished was He to return and build again the 
tabernacles of David, which had fallen down (v. 16),—to that 
trump the Israelites had paid no heed, but instead, for the 
greater part, they had even stopped their ears lest they might 
aear and be converted. 


206 IS THE KINGDOM AGE AT HAND? 


Israel Will Heed Their Own Trumpets 


But when God begins to speak to this people again by the use 
of their own trumpets,—a sound with which they are perfectly 
familiar, and one which the more devout at least of that nation 
have never ceased to hear with any feeling other than reverence, 
the result will be entirely different. After the opening of the 
fifth seal the gospel trump will not be heard, but the Jewish 
trumpets will then be heard by Israel. God has not spoken to 
them through those trumpets since the suspension of the Abra- 
hamic Covenant, and now that He addresses them by the use 
of these instruments it is evident that He intends to deal with 
them once again under their own Covenant. And, as already 
explained, there are yet seven years remaining for its completion 
according to Daniel’s prophecy of the Seventy of Sevens. 

And as these trumpets are divided into two divisions, the 
first four trumpets to be followed by the three “woe” trum- 
pets, and as the time given under the last three trumpets is 
just forty and two months, or three and one half years, it is 
evident that the time within which the first four trumpets will 
be completed will also be three and a half years. 


The First Trumpet Judgment 


“The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and 
fire mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the 
earth: and the third part of trees was burnt up, and all 
green grass was burnt up” (ch. 8:7). 


This is the same as the seventh judgment sent upon Egypt 
(Ex. 9:18-26). It will be a supernatural hail storm accom- 
panied with terrific lightning that will cause great loss of prop- 
erty and life among men and beasts the same as occurred in the 
land of Egypt. The hail and the fire, as they appeared in the 
vision to the Seer, were mingled with blood which indicates the 
destruction of life that was caused by the storm. Yet this, 
and all succeeding judgments under the trumpets, were tem- 
pered with divine mercy. In this judgment, while all green 
grass was burnt up, the third part only of the trees was burnt 
up. For the greater part, the trees of Palestine are the date, 


ISRAEL IN THE LATTER DAYS 207 


the fig, the olive and other trees that supply food for man; 
hence only a portion of the trees are destroyed, while the grass, 
which is food only for cattle, was all burnt up. Here is provi- 
sion for man’s life, but with great loss of possessions, because 
the cattle must either die or be sold at a mere nominal price 
to those who might have on hand food to provide for them. 


The Second Trumpet Judgment 


“And the second angel sounded, and as it were a great 
mountain burning with fire was cast into the sea: and the 
third part of the sea became blood: and the third part of 
the creatures which were in the sea, and had life, died; 
ang ne third part of the ships were destroyed” (ch. 

:8, 9). 


This is the same as the first judgment sent upon Egypt when 
the Nile was smitten in the sight of Pharaoh and his servants, 
and the water of the river was turned to blood, and the fish that 
were in the river died (Ex. 7:20, 21). The sea is the one so 
frequently mentioned in the Old Testament as the sea of the 
Plain, or the Salt sea; and in the New Testament it is called the 
sea of Galilee, or lake Gennesereth, or Tiberias. Into this sea 
was cast what appeared like a great mountain burning with fire. 
This will probably be a meteor of most unusual size and the 
nature of it will be such as to cause part of the water of the 
sea to become blood,—at least in the vision it had the appear- 
ance of blood. The result was a further destruction of life and 
the loss of possessions. 

Whether the fraction one third expresses a certain portion 
or an absolute quantity is relatively immaterial; in either case 
the hand of mercy appears since the effect of the judgment is 
limited in the extent of the damage wrought. However, the 
real significance of the one third will appear later and it seems 
to indicate that Israel suffers only half as much as will the 
Gentiles who are the subjects of the Antichrist. 


The Third Trumpet Judgment 


“And the third angel sounded, and there fell a great star 
from heaven, burning as it were a lamp, and it fell upon 
the third part of the rivers, and upon the fountains of 


208 IS THE KINGDOM AGE AT HAND? 


waters: And the name of the star is called Wormwood: 
and the third part of the waters became wormwood; and 
many men died of the waters, because they were made 
bitter” (ch, 8:10, 11). 


This judgment is in much similar to the preceding and will 
be caused by a meteor, or shooting star, which, bursting as it 
approaches the earth, will fall upon the rivers and fountains 
of waters. It is credibly reported that on Feb. 1oth, 1896, a 
remarkable meteor exploded over the city of Madrid. Though 
it appeared during the daylight, its brilliancy was such as to 
dazzle the eyesight of persons in Madrid and to make it visible 
as far away as Gibraltar. It exploded at a height of about 
fifteen miles, and so tremendous was the detonation that it 
was heard and its tremors felt over a radius exceeding fifty 
miles. 

The particular star seen in this vision was called “Worm- 
wood,” a word meaning “undrinkable.” The result not only 
caused the waters to become bitter, but also poisonous, and 
many men died of the waters. Since the former meteor ap- 
peared as a great burning mountain, and this one burned as it 
were a lamp, it is possible that the whole nation of Israel will 
suffer from the former judgment in the loss of possessions, 
while in this judgment it will be only the false teachers among 
the people whose lives will be destroyed. In the imagery of 
Scripture a mountain sometimes is used symbolically of a 
kingdom, and teachers are frequently designated under the 
figure of a lamp. If this distinction is to be made, then this 
judgment may be the fulfilment of the prophecy concerning the 
false prophets of whom God declared: 


“T will feed them with wormwood, and make them 
drink the water of gall: for from the prophets of Jeru- 
salem is profaneness gone forth into all the land... in 
the latter days ye shall consider it perfectly. I have not 
sent these prophets, yet they ran: I have not spoken to 
them, yet they prophesied” (Jer. 23:15, 20, 21, 30, 34). 


In any case, the judgment while severe is also mercifully 
limited. 


ISRAEL IN THE LATTER DAYS 209 


The Fourth Trumpet Judgment 


“And the fourth angel sounded, and the third part of 
the sun was smitten, and the third part of the moon, and 
the third part of the stars; so as the third part of them 
was darkened, and the day shone not for a third part of it, 
and the night likewise” (ch. 8:12). 


In connection with this judgment no mention is made of 
any loss either of life or of property, yet the effect of such 
strange and unnatural conditions appearing in the sun, moon 
and stars would certainly arouse apprehension and cause terror 
to spread among the people, especially since within so short a 
period they had already experienced the visitation of the pre- 
ceding three terrible divine judgments. 

It must not be forgotten that in all these trumpet judgments 
God is dealing with His own chosen people, the children of 
Israel and the natural seed of Abraham. God cast away this 
people because of their sins, and permitted them to be sorely 
afflicted and persecuted by the Gentile nations among whom they 
were scattered during all these centuries. Now at the time of 
this vision, God’s purpose is not to destroy that nation, but 
rather He would chasten them as a father would a wayward 
child with no other purpose or wish than to bring that child 
to repent of and to forsake its evil doings so that it might 
enjoy the father’s love, blessing and protection. This will be 
the time also when God’s judgments are abroad in the earth, 
and when they are sent forth, as is revealed in this prophecy of 
the Revelation, not upon Israel only, but also upon all Gentile 
nations as well, and the divine purpose is that the inhabitants 
of the world shall learn righteousness. It is those whom the 
Lord loveth that He chasteneth, and He scourgeth every child 
whom He receives in order to take away sin, the abominable 
thing which He hates and of which the wages is death. By 
every means therefore, it is God’s purpose to win man if pos- 
sible from his sins; for He is not willing that any should 
perish, but that all should come to repentance. 


CHAPTER XIX 
THE TIME OF JACOB’S TROUBLE 


The Woe Trumpets 


After Jacob’s conversior? his name was changed to Israel. 
Later when the Church was organized and when many of the 
Jews believed on Christ the Christian Jews were spoken of as 
“the Israel of God or the true Israel’ (Gal. 6:16), while those 
who remained faithful to the law of Moses continued to be 
called Israel even though they did not accept Jesus Christ as 
their Messiah. They were the children of the flesh (Rom. 
9:8), and it was to these two divisions of the same people that 
Paul referred when he said, “They are not all Israel, who are 
of Israel” (Rom. 9:6), or Israelites. But these Israelites are 
further divided in Scripture. Those who continued faithful to 
the Abrahamic Covenant are spoken of as “the remnant accord- 
ing to the election of grace’ (Rom. 11:5), while those who 
were indifferent even to the law of Moses were referred to as 
“the house of Jacob’ (Lk. 1:33). 

And to this present time this distinction is maintained, only 
today the two classes are known as “the Orthodox” and “‘the 
Reformed” Jews. The former still faithfully observe the law 
of Moses, while the latter have practically lost faith even in 
their own Scriptures, and have tried to become identified with 
the world even though, to some extent, they still observe a 
form of godliness. 

The first four trumpet judgments and also the first four 
bowls of the wrath of God, four being the number of the earth, 
occur simultaneously and bring divine judgments upon all the 
inhabitants of the earth. But the judgments visited on the 
nation of Israel, including both “the remnant’ and “the house 
of Jacob,” are limited to those described under the sounding 
of the trumpets; while both the trumpet and the bowl judgments 

210 


THE TIME OF JACOB’S TROUBLE 211 


are visited upon the Gentile nations which form the empire of 
the Antichrist. The remaining three of the trumpet and bowl 
judgments follow immediately and continue to the very end of 
the age. They cover the whole period mentioned in Scripture 
as the great tribulation which ends with the day of the Lord. 
A divine messenger announces the coming of the judgments: 


“And I beheld, and heard an angel flying through the 
‘midst of heaven, saying with a loud voice, Woe, woe, woe, 
to the inhabiters of the earth by reason of the other 
voices of the trumpet of the three angels, which are yet 
to sound” (ch. 8:13). 


The last three trumpets, three being the number that stands 
for the Trinity and for a divine work, also call forth universal 
judgments; but now a difference is to be made. With the 
sounding of these trumpets begins the great tribulation which 
will continue for three and a half years, or forty and two 
months, and as will appear later in the prophecy a distinction 
is made between those who fear God and those who continue 
to rebel against His will. The persons and things that are 
not to be harmed by these judgments include the sealed remnant, 
the temple in Jerusalem, the altar, the worshipers in the temple 
and also the two witnesses who are described as the two olive 
trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the 
whole earth (Zech. 4:2-7). Between all such persons and 
things as have been separated unto God; and all other persons 
and things, including the godless house of Jacob, a difference 
is now to be made even as in the days when God plagued the 
Egyptians, but spared His own people who for the time were 
dwellers in the land of Egypt. 


Prophecy Fulfilled Concerning Israel’s Return to the Land of 
Palestine 


It is evident, therefore, that before the time when the trum- 
pets begin to sound there will have been a complete and literal 
fulfilment of all those Old Testament prophecies that predict 
the return of Israel, while yet in their blindness and unbelief 
concerning the teachings and claims of Jesus as their Messiah, 
to their own land which God gave in covenant to faithful 


212 IS THE KINGDOM AGE AT HAND? 


Abraham and to his seed after him. Further, that people will 
again become a nation in the land of Palestine, the city of 
Jerusalem and their temple will be rebuilt, the worship of 
Jehovah the God of Israel will be observed according to the 
Mosaic ritual and so the way will be prepared for the fulfil- 
ment of the prediction made by the apostle Paul in his letter to 
the Hebrews (8:7-13). 

However, that nation which rejected Jesus as their Messiah 
will have at that time so little trust and confidence in the care 
of the God Whom they worship, that they will have accepted the 
Antichrist as their protector and deliverer (John 5:43), and 
entered into a covenant with him (Isa. 28: 15-18,—the very 
same covenant which after three and a half years, or forty and 
two months, or twelve hundred and sixty days, or after time, 
times, and half a time, will be broken by the Antichrist, Dan. 
9:27). Then will begin the time of Jacob’s trouble (Jer. 
30:1-9), out of which that portion of the nation shall be 
delivered only by the return of their Messiah at His Second 
Advent ; for the Antichrist will be at war with them, and to the 
full end that people will suffer at his hands. 


The Fifth Trumpet Judgment 


“And the fifth angel sounded (firs® woe trumpet), and 
I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth; and to him 
was given the key of the bottomless pit” (ch. 9:1). 


This particular star belonged to the order of the spiritual 
rather than of the material creation. What the Seer beheld in 
the vision was a spirit of superior order and rank who fell from 
heaven. And as it is said he “fell from Heaven” rather than 
that he came down from heaven it is probable that he was one 
of the fallen angels; possibly even Satan himself, or at least 
one of the higher orders of fallen spirits who serve under the 
Devil’s command. 


The Keto the Bottomless Pit 


To this fallen spirit was given the permission, or power (thé 
key) to open the bottomless pit which signifies the lower part 
of hades, or sheol, in which these spirits are reserved in chains 


THE TIME OF JACOB’S TROUBLE 213 


of darkness unto judgment (2 Pet. 2:4). To those who love 
darkness rather than light because their deeds are evil, and who 
choose to honor Satan rather than God, it is God’s purpose to 
let them have the benefit of that choice for a time at least right 
here on the earth. Hence under this fifth trumpet, the house of 
Jacob, which has identified itself as far as possible with a god- 
less world, is given over to the power of the Devil. And he, 
or his agent, having the key to the pit opened it: 


“And there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke 
of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened 
by reason of the smoke of the pit” (ch. 9:2). 


Here then will be plenty of darkness to satisfy those who 
hate the light. Further, these supernatural judgments that are 
coming on the earth in due time, and not in the far distant 
future either, will convince those of their mistake who deny that 
there is any such thing as the supernatural; for all the judg- 
ments described in this prophecy will be as literally fulfilled 
as were those visited upon Egypt in the days of Moses. 


The Infernal Cavalry 


“And there came out of the smoke locusts upon the 
earth: and unto them was given power, as the scorpions of 
the earth have power. And it was commanded them 
that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither 
any green thing, neither any tree, but only those men 
which have not the seal of God in their foreheads” (ch. 
9:3, 4). 


Here are seen satanic agents of evil, but they are under 
divine control, and cannot go beyond the permission granted 
them any more than Satan could in the days of Job. They 
were given power only over those men who had not been 
sealed (ch. 7:1-8). 


“And to them it was given that they should not kill 
them, but that they should be tormented five months: and 
their torment was as the torment of a scorpion, when he 
striketh a man. And in those days shall men seek death, 
and shall not find it, and shall desire to die, and death 
shall flee from them” (ch. 9:5, 6 


214 IS THE KINGDOM AGE AT HAND? 


These locusts were not permitted to kill, but only to torment 
men, including the house of Jacob as being identified with the 
world, for five months. During that time the suffering of the 
victims will be such that death would be preferable, but there 
will be no escape for them from the torment caused by the 
sting of the locusts. 


“And the shapes of the locusts were like unto horses 
prepared unto battle; and on their heads were as it were 
crowns like gold, and their faces were as the faces of 
men. And they had hair as the hair of women, and their 
teeth were as the teeth of lions. And they had breast- 
plates, as it were breastplates of iron; and the sound of 
their wings was as the sound of chariots of many horses 
running to battle. And they had tails like unto scorpions, 
and there were stings in their tails: and their power was 
to hurt men five months. And they had a king over them, 
who is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the 
Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath 
his name Apollyon” (ch. 9:7-11). 


If any one desires to look upon a picture of the infernal 
‘Cavalry he can find it right here. These agents of torment will 
be demons, or fallen spirits, from the bottomless pit. They will 
embody themselves in locusts, which in appearance will be 
transformed into hideous monstrosities, and these satanic agen- 
cies will have power to torment men five months. These 
demons have over them a king, who is the angel or spirit of the 
bottomless pit, and that there may be no mistaking the identity 
of his satanic majesty it is revealed that in Hebrew his name is 
Abaddon, while in Greek it is Apollyon, and both of these 
names in their respective languages mean ‘The Destroyer,” one 
of the names of the Devil. This judgment will end the first 
woe, and there are two others to come. 


The Stxth Trumpet Judgment 


“And the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from 
the four horns of the golden altar which is before God, 
saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet (the 
second woe trumpet), Loose the four angels which are 
bound in the great river Euphrates” (ch. 9:13, 14). 


THE TIME OF JACOB’S TROUBLE 215 


The mention of this great river at once directs attention to 
the countries inhabited by certain of the so-called backward 
nations,—Mesopotamia, Persia, Arabia, and other similar na- 
tions and peoples that constitute, if there be included the adher- 
ents to the religions of those peoples, about one half of the 
present inhabitants of the world. The four angels which are 
bound, or held as prisoners for the present in the river, are 
certainly not to be identified as members of the heavenly hosts. 
Rather they are evil spirits, possibly demons that have taken 
possession of the rulers of the inhabitants of that portion of 
heathendom, or more probably they are the demons that possess 
the people themselves. In either case they may represent the 
evil spirits of ignorance, superstition, avarice and fanaticism. 
These demons have long been held in check, or kept under divine 
‘restraint, by means of the power and arms of the more advanced 
and civilized Western nations. 


Heathendom Preparing Today for Coming Conflict 


However, these backward nations are slowly but surely adopt- 
ing Western ideas and customs. They are sending today some 
of their brightest students to be educated in the great universi- 
ties of civilized nations, and as soon as they are prepared for 
the work of these students are employed in governmental posi- 
tions of power and influence. And all of these backward na- 
tions are having their armies organized or reorganized and 
trained by some of the greatest and wisest military instructors 
available. Thus they are gradually preparing to cast off the 
yoke of Western civilization that has so often proved itself 
unjust and cruelly oppressive, and they purpose to seek for 
themselves a place in the sun after the example of their op- 
pressors from whom they are learning even while to a greater 
or less extent they also are being exploited. 

It is therefore not beyond reasonable conjecture to under- 
stand that the second woe directs attention to the time when 
these backward nations of the East will arise and demand 
respect for their rights, and avenge themselves against their 
oppressors. If this be correct, then the four angels, or evil 
spirits of ignorance, superstition, avarice and fanaticism will 


216 IS THE KINGDOM AGE AT HAND? 


be turned loose on the Western Gentile world, the empire of 
the Beast. 


“And the four angels were loosed, which were prepared 
for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, for to 
slay the third part of men. And the number of the army 
of the horsemen were two hundred thousand thousand: 
and I heard the number of them” (ch. 9:15, 16). 


These evil spirits are prepared for the very moment when 
their services will be required, and a third part of men will be 
slain. The city of Jerusalem being on the line of march to 
the West will be a storm center as so often it has been before 
in the wars between Gentile nations. These hordes of peoples 
will probably oppose the armies of the Antichrist a short time 
before the battle of Armageddon, and afterward they will sign 
a truce with the Antichrist so that there will be the united 
armies for the great day of the Lord when God will dash the 
potsherds of earth together, and break them as a potter’s vessel 
with a rod of iron (Ps. 2:9). It will be immense armies that 
will be marshalled together to fight each other at that time, the 
number being two hundred million men. 


“And thus I saw the horses in the vision, and them 
that sat on them, having breastplates of fire, and of 
jacinth, and brimstone: and the heads of the horses were 
as the heads of lions; and out of their mouths issued fire 
and smoke and brimstone. By these three was the third 
part of men killed, by the fire, and by the smoke, and by 
the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths. For 
their power is in their mouth, and in their tails: for their 
tails were like unto serpents, and had heads, and with 
them they do hurt” (ch. 9:17-19). 


What appeared in the vision of the Seer as horses might 
easily turn out to be the more modern and improved machinery 
of warfare. John, the beloved disciple, is here merely describ- 
ing things as they ‘“‘appeared” to be in the vision, rather than 
declaring what they were in reality. The description furnished 
of these horses and their riders, and especially of the means by 
which life was destroyed by them prove that they were not 
literal horses, and make it very evident that they were some 


THE TIME OF JACOB’S TROUBLE 217 


kind of engines of war. The third of men who were killed by 
the fire, smoke and brimstone refers probably to “the house of 
Jacob” rather than to the inhabitants of the earth. This is 
a trumpet judgment and attention is still being directed in this 
part of the prophecy only to God’s dealings with Israel. Of 
these horses and their riders it is declared, “Their power,” like 
modern engines of war equipped to fire from both front and 
rear, “is in their mouth, and in their tails’: and the munition 
will probably be some kind of poisoned gas. 

In any event the scene here described is one of war and of 
bloodshed that attains to tremendous proportions, yet the 
result only confirms those who escape the slaughter in their 
wickedness : 


“And the rest of the men who were not killed by these 
plagues yet repented not of the works of their hands, that 
they should not worship devils and idols of gold, and 
silver, and brass, and stone, and wood: which neither can 
see, nor hear, nor walk: neither repented they of their 
murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication, 
nor of their thefts” (ch. 9:20, 21). 


Beyond all controversy such a state of society is desperately 
wicked, and well deserving of the yet more terrible divine 
judgments that are described under the pouring out of the bowls 
of the wrath of God Almighty. Before completing the account 
of this sixth trumpet judgment that will be visited upon apostate 
Israel, or the house of Jacob, the Seer next records the vision 
he received regarding that portion of the nation of Israel that 
had remained faithful to the law of Moses, and that, therefore, 
had been sealed, probably with the anointing oil, before the 
great tribulation began, and who were not to be hurt by any 
of these plagues that were visited upon the rebellious house of 
Jacob. 


CHAPTER XX 
TRIBULATION OF COVENANT-KEEPING ISRAEL 


The Mighty Angel from Heaven 


“And I saw another mighty angel come down from 
heaven, clothed with a cloud; and a rainbow was upon 
His head, and His face was as it were the sun, and His 
feet as pillars of fire: and he had in His hand a little book 
open: and He set His right foot upon the sea, and His 
left foot on the earth, and cried with a loud voice, as 
when a lion roareth: and when He had cried, seven thun- 
ders uttered their voices. And when the seven thunders 
had uttered their voices, I] was about to write: and I heard 
a voice from heaven saying unto me, Seal up those 
things which the seven thunders uttered, and write them 
not” (ch. 10:1-4). 


It is not difficult to recognize in this angel the Lord Jesus 
Christ Himself, the glorified Son of Man. The description of 
His person corresponds with that given of Him when John 
first beheld Him in the vision (Rev. 1:13-15), and the rainbow 
upon His head unmistakably associates Him with the One Who 
sat upon the judgment throne when the judgment of the world, 
or “the beginning of sorrows” (Matt. 24:4-8), first began with 
the opening of the first seal of the book. 

Christ Claims His Possession of the Earth 

The little book open in His left hand was the same book that 
had been sealed with seven seals which no man, other than the 
God-Man Himself, was worthy to remove and to open the book 
which contained all the facts duly to establish Christ’s title to 
the earth and the sea as His possession. Now the seals have 
all been removed ; the book is open in His hand, and He sets His 
feet on the sea and the earth, thus signifying His proprietorship 

218 


TRIBULATION OF COVENANT-KEEPING ISRAEL 219 


in the same, even as God had said unto Joshua (1:3) “Every 
place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that have I 
given unto you, as I said unto Moses.” 


The Seven Thunders 


Having formally claimed possession of the earth and sea the 
mighty angel cried with a loud voice. That was the shout of a 
champion about to engage the enemy in mortal combat (1 Sam. 
17:4-10); it was uttered by the Lion of the tribe of Judah; 
and when He cried seven thunders uttered their voices. John 
was about to write what the thunders uttered but was forbidden 
to do so by a voice from heaven. What the seven thunders 
said was to be sealed up because for the present at least that 
revelation given to John was not intended to be generally 
known, and it is useless to speculate concerning the secret things 
that belong unto the Lord our God. Paul also when he was 
caught up into Paradise heard unspeakable words, which it is 
not lawful for a man to utter (2 Cor. 12:4). Thus these two 
exceptionally devoted servants of Jesus Christ have been taken 
into God’s confidence and admitted to His council to a degree 
beyond that granted to any other members of the human family. 


No Longer Is Time to Be Allowed 


“And the angel which I saw stand upon the sea and 
upon the earth lifted up His hand to heaven, and sware 
by Him that liveth for ever and ever, Who created 
heaven, and the things that therein are, and the earth, and 
the things that therein are, and the sea, and the things 
which are therein, that there should be time no longer. 
But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when 
he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be fin- 
ished, as He hath declared to His servants the prophets” 


(ch. 10:5-7). 


The declaration that there should be time no longer means 
simply that there would be no longer any delay in fulfilling 
God’s promises, given to the prophets concerning the Kingdom, 
that through all the centuries has remained such a mystery to 
multitudes of God’s children. The time for the complete clear- 
ing up of this mystery is here, on the sworn testimony of Jesus, 


220 IS THE KINGDOM AGE AT HAND? 


set for the days of the voice of the seventh angel when he shall 
begin. to sound. 


The Little Book Open in the Hand of the Angel 


“And the voice which I heard from heaven spake unto 
me again, and said, Go and take the little book which 
is open in the hand of the angel which standeth upon the 
sea and upon the earth. And I went unto the angel, ané 
said unto him, Give me the little book. And He said unto 
me, Take it, and eat it up; and it shall make thy belly 
bitter, but it shall be in thy mouth sweet as honey. And 
I took the little book out of the angel’s hand, and ate it 
up; and it was in my mouth sweet as honey: and as soor 
as I had eaten it, my belly was bitter. And He said unto 
me, Thou must prophesy again before many peoples, and 
nations, and tongues, and kings” (ch. 10: 8-I1). 


Obedient to the heavenly voice John took the book and ate 
it up as the angel directed him to do. It was sweet to his 
taste but it made his belly bitter even as the angel had predicted 
When John first saw that book he wept bitterly because no 
man in heaven or earth or under the earth was able to open 
it or to look on it. But now the seals have been removed; the 
book is open and a great change has come about. He can now 
look on it and even take it in his hand and eat it up as he was 
told to do. 


A Joint-Hew with Christ to the Inheritance 

As the eating of the bread and the drinking of the cup in 
the Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper symbolizes the appropriat- 
ing of Christ, and of all the benefits that flow from His obedi- 
ence, death and resurrection; and also the accepting of the obli- 
gations and the gracious rewards stipulated in the New Cove- 
nant in His blood, so the eating of the little book, which John 
received from the hand of Christ, signifies that he appropriates 
to himself the offered right and privilege to become a joint-heir 
with Christ as an inheritor of the earth with all its honor, glory, 
power and riches. Before Christ had removed the seals from 
that book and established His claim to the earth before the 
judgment throne in heaven, no mere man was worthy to take 
it into his possession. But now, as it was in the hand of 


TRIBULATION OF COVENANT-KEEPING ISRAEL 221 


Christ an open book, it is the privilege of all to whom Christ 
offers it to take it as their own, as God’s children, and therefore 
His heirs and joint-heirs with His only Begotten Son. This 
glorious truth was in John’s mouth as sweet as honey (Ps. 
19 :9-10; 119:103; Eze. 2:8, 9; 3:1-3). But having become a 
possessor with Christ of the inheritance John would be required 
to share the responsibility of making the facts known concern- 
ing the inheritance before a rebellious world, and to endure the 
reproach and the persecution of those who would oppose and 
resist Christ’s purpose to take possession of His own earth. 
And it was this fact that caused the bitterness after the book 
had been eaten (Jer. 15:10; 20:14-18). The time when John 
must again prophesy before peoples, nations, tongues and kings 
will be later considered in connection with what follows in this 
same vision. 


Jerusalem to Be Trodden Under Foot Forty-two Months 


“And there was given me a reed like unto a rod: and 
the angel stood, saying, Rise, and measure the temple of 
God, and the altar, and them that worship therein. But 
the court which is without the temple leave out, and meas- 
ure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles; and the holy 
city shall they tread under foot forty and two months” 
Cony Tied. 2)). 


The command to “Rise,” does not mean that the Seer had 
been prostrating himself; rather, it is an urgent call to proceed 
without delay to the appointed work. The reed given him was 
like a rod, a symbol of office and of authority. It shows that 
John was duly clothed with power for the performance of the 
task assigned to him in the temple and about God’s altar. The 
group of worshipers in the temple represents the orthodox Jews, 
or the remnant, that still cling to the faith of their fathers. 
They are to be included in the measuring which at once shows 
that in them God has a peculiar interest. They are to be under 
His special care and protection, and so they are to be measured 
along with the temple in Jerusalem and the altar. The court 
without the temple and the holy city, Jerusalem, were not to 
be measured because the Gentiles were to be permitted to 
trample them under foot for forty and two months. Here for 


222 IS THE KINGDOM AGE AT HAND? 


the first time in the New Testament, account is once again taken 
of time as related to things connected with the history of the 
nation of Israel. 


The Completion of the Four Hundred and Ninety Years 


The forty two months, equal to twelve hundred and sixty 
days or three and a half years, correspond to the last half of 
Daniel’s last one of the Seventy of Sevens, or four hundred 
and ninety years, within which period the Abrahamic Covenant 
was to be fulfilled and the anointing of the Most Holy One, the 
Messiah, accomplished. Daniel's prophecy includes the end 
of the times of the Gentiles as do also the forty two months 
which fix the limit to the time when the Gentiles will be per- 
mitted to tread the holy city under foot. 

Further, as in Daniel’s prophecy, it was declared that the 
coming prince, the Antichrist, after three and a half years, 
would break the Covenant he had made with many of Daniel’s 
people, and that wrath would be poured out upon that nation 
until the full end of the period as it had been determined, so 
here for forty two months, or exactly three and a half years, 
the holy city Jerusalem is to be trodden under the foot of the 
Gentiles. And Jesus predicted: “Jerusalem shall be trodden 
down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled” 
(Lk. 21:24). According to this prophecy those times will be 
fulfilled at the end of the forty two months, and during that 
same period great suffering and many indignities are to be 
inflicted upon the inhabitants of that city. But here attention 
is called to the fact that during that very period God plans 
to take care of His own, the remnant of Israel, that will be 
in the city at that time. 

It appears useless, therefore, to deny as some do that these 
forty two months synchronize with the last one of Daniel’s 
Seventy of Sevens, or the last half of the last seven years when 
God’s Covenant with Israel, after having been suspended for 
all these centuries, will have once again become operative. 


The Beginning of the Last Seven Years Also Established 


It is not less evident that the beginning of this same seven 
year period, or the time when the Covenant again became opera- 


TRIBULATION OF COVENANT-KEEPING ISRAEL 223 


tive, and when God returned and began to show favor to His 
people Israel, was when the seven trumpets began to sound. 
It was then that the twelve thousand out of each of the twelve 
tribes of Israel are recognized and sealed as God’s servants 
(ch. 7:3-8). This proves clearly that God was then again 
interesting Himself in that nation, and to some at least of its 
people He was showing special favor because they were sealed 
with the anointing oil in order that they might be preserved 
from harm from the coming judgments. Again, since immedi- 
ately after the first four seals had been opened the altar arrests 
attention; and since before any of the trumpets have sounded, 
the angel of the altar appears, and to him was given incense 
to be offered with the prayers of all the saints (Israel) upon 
the altar that was before the throne, it would seem impossible 
almost that any one should question that at that very time the 
last seven years of Daniel’s prophecy began. Then followed 
three and a half years of trumpet judgments, and here the last 
forty two months, which complete the seven years, are expressly 
shown to date from the measuring of the temple of God, the 
altar and also the worshipers in the temple. 


Time of the Sounding of First Four Trumpets to Witness 
Fulfilment of Many of the Prophecies 


Further, it seems evident that the time of the sounding of the 
first four trumpets will witness the literal fulfilment of the 
prophecies concerning Israel and Jacob. Such at least as the 
following : 


“Behold, I will bring them from the north country, and 
gather them from the coasts of the earth. . . . They shall 
come with weeping, and with supplication will I lead 
them. . . . Hear the word of the Lord, O ye nations, and 
declare it in the isles afar off, and say, HE THAT SCAT- 
TERETH ISRAEL WILL GATHER HIM, and keep him as a 
shepherd doth his flock. For the Lord hath redeemed 
Jacob, and ransomed him from the hand of him that was 
stronger than he” (Jer. 31:8-11; 32:37-44; Eze. II: 
17-21). 


224 IS THE KINGDOM AGE AT HAND? 


Return of Israci to Palestine No Longer Questioned 


Less than fifty years ago, when those who believed in the 
literal fulfilment of the prophecies of God’s word declared 
that in due time God would bring that strange people, the 
children of Abraham, back to their own land; that Jerusalem 
would again become the Capital city of the restored Jewish 
state; that the temple would be rebuilt and dedicated anew to 
the worship of Jehovah, and that the temple service, according 
to the Mosaic ritual, would again be instituted, they were 
laughed to scorn even by Christians, and of course by the Jews. 
Today, however, there are great multitudes who are not Chris- 
tians, and who know nothing about the teachings and predictions 
of prophecy, who nevertheless believe and expect these very 
things to occur, and that too before a great while. They believe 
in all these things simply because they know what is going on 
today in the world. 


Zionism and the British Proposal 


They know that Zionism is the name given to a plan started 
some years ago by the Jews themselves for the acquisition of 
Palestine with a view to establishing their people in the holy 
land; they know that today even some of the Gentile nations 
are favorably considering this same plan as possibly the best 
solution for some of their problems in the near East; they 
know that following the World War, when Palestine became a 
protectorate of Great Britain that that nation officially granted 
permission for the establishment of a Jewish state, and today 
multitudes of the Jews in all lands are seeking to accomplish 
the realization of that plan at the earliest possible date, 


Such Announcements to Be Read in the Public Press 


In these days one may frequently read in the daily papers 
announcements such as the following which appeared in the 
Pittsburgh Gazette Times of Nov. 8, 1923: 


“JEWS TO CELEBRATE HOMELAND” 


“The sixth anniversary of the Balfour declaration, 
establishing Palestine as a national Jewish homeland un- 
der a mandate of Great Britain will be celebrated Sun- 


TRIBULATION OF COVENANT-KEEPING ISRAEL 225 


day night at a mass meeting in the Zionist institute, Cen- 
ter Avenue. Isaac Carmel, field secretary of the Zionist 
organization of America, will speak on “The Balfour Dec- 
laration: a Turning Point in Jewish History.’ Dr. Edlis 
and Dr. H. M. Snitzer also will speak.” 


God is preparing right now for the return of the Hebrews 
to the land of their fathers in order that the Scriptures may be 
fulfilled. Other prophecies of Scripture also are being fulfilled 
today before the eyes of multitudes, professed Christians and 
others, who attach but little significance to these observed facts, 
and to whom the words of Jesus Christ, addressed to the Sad- 
ducees, apply: “Ye can discern the face of the sky; but.ye 
cannot discern the signs of the times” (Matt. 16:3). 


The Two Witnesses 


“And I will give power unto My two Witnesses, and 
they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and three 
score days, clothed in sackcloth. These are the two olive 
trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God 
of the earth. And if any man will hurt them, fire pro- 
ceedeth out of their mouth, and devoureth their enemies: 
and if any man will hurt them, he must in this manner 
be killed. These have power to shut heaven, that it rain 
not in the days of their prophecy: and have power over 
waters to turn them to blood, and to smite the earth with 
all plagues, as often as they will” (ch. 11 :3-6). 


This continues the vision concerning the measuring of the 
temple. The Witnesses are clothed in sackcloth which is a sym- 
bol of great sorrow and distress among the Jews especially when 
threatened with national calamity (Esth. 4:1-3). As God’s 
Witnesses, and there are to be two since in the mouth of two 
Witnesses shall every word be established, they are to prophesy 
twelve hundred and sixty days, or the entire period of the forty- 
two months when the holy city will be trodden under foot by 
Gentile nations composing the empire of Antichrist. These 
Witnesses will have miraculous power, and will also be invulner- 
able for the three and a half years, or for the full period during 
which they will be required to prophesy. Since at that time the 
true Church will have been removed from the earth there will 
be none other than these two Witnesses who can believingly and 


226 IS THE KINGDOM AGE AT HAND? 


intelligently testify to the truth as it is in Jesus. Hence they 
are described as the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks 
standing before the God of the earth. 


The Witnesses to Be Slain 


“And when they shall have finished their testimony, the 
Beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make 
war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them. 
And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great 
city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where 
also our Lord was crucified. And they of the people, kin- 
dreds, tongues, and nations shall see their dead bodies 
three days and a half, and shall not suffer their dead 
bodies to be put in graves. And they that dwell upon the 
earth shall rejoice over them, and make merry, and shall 
send gifts one to another; because these two prophets tor- 
mented them that dwelt on the earth. And after three 
days and a half the spirit of life from God entered into 
them, and they stood upon their feet; and great fear fell 
upon them that saw them. And they heard a great voice 
from heaven saying unto them, Come up hither. And they 
ascended up to heaven in a cloud; and their enemies be- 
held them” (ch. 11:7-12). 


After their testimony is finished these two Witnesses are to 
be killed by the Beast, Antichrist, who comes out of the bottom- 
less pit which is the present abode of lost souls (See Scofield’s 
Reference Bible. Footnote on Lk. 16:23). For three and a 
half days their dead bodies lie in the street of Jerusalem (spirit- 
ually called Sodom and Egypt), while their enemies whom they 
had tormented with plagues sent upon them rejoice and make 
merry over them. Then the bodies of these prophets will be 
restored to life and they will be taken to heaven in a cloud,— 
events that will cause great fear to their enemies. 

These and similar other events related in this prophecy are 
of course most unusual, but there is no reason why they should 
not be understood literally except by those who deny the super- 
natural, or by those who are unwilling to believe ALL that the 
prophets have spoken. If, for the first reason, one refuses to 
consider these events as literal, then consistency would require 
that the judgments sent upon Egypt in the time of Moses, and 
all other miraculous events, including the resurrection and 


TRIBULATION OF COVENANT-KEEPING ISRAEL 227 


ascension of Christ, that are recorded in Scripture should be 
considered as merely symbolic, and one is left to guess at the 
spiritual sense or meaning. On the other hand, if for the 
second reason one insists that such unfulfilled events must be 
regarded as symbolic merely, then he places himself in the class 
with those whom Jesus reproved for their unwillingness to 
believe all that the prophets have spoken. 


The Two Witnesses Identified 


There is much unnecessary speculation regarding the identity 
of the two Witnesses, and some very far fetched and absurd 
explanations have been given concerning this question. In- 
stead of being considered as persons, as they are clearly shown 
to be, they have been regarded by some expositors as two sys- 
tems or organizations, such as the Church and Christian Civil 
Government. Some have even gone to the extreme of making 
the particular denomination of which they were members one 
of the Witnesses referred to by the Seer. Among sane ex- 
positors, however, who are willing to show some respect for 
the rules of exegesis, it is commonly held that one of these 
Witnesses will be Elijah the prophet whose literal appearing at 
that time will fulfil the prophecy of Malachi (4: 5-6). 


Prophecy to be Literally Fulfilled Even Though Fulfilled in 
Spirit and in Power 

True, Jesus said of John the Baptist, “This is Elias (Elijah) 
which was to come” (Matt. 11:14; 17:11, 12). But as the 
angel explained to Zacharias, this meant that John would pre- 
cede Jesus “in the spirit and power of Elijah” (Lk. 1:17), 
and not that he would take the place of the literal Elijah and 
so fulfil that prophecy. Hence to the chief priests and Levites 
who came to John himself asking, “Art thou Elias?’ John 
answered, “I am not.’’ And when further pressing the question 
they inquired, ‘Art thou that prophet” (meaning the one like 
unto Moses, or the Christ, Whom God had promised to raise 
up for this people)? John answered, “No” (John 1: 19-21). 
Jesus and John did not contradict each other since Jesus merely 
meant that “in spirit and in power” Elijah was present in the 


228 . IS THE KINGDOM AGE AT HAND? 


person of the Baptist, while John denied that he was the fulfil- 
ment of that prophecy. 

It was also declared about the same time, “The Kingdom of 
heaven is at hand.” To this fact both Jesus and John gave 
testimony (Matt. 3:2; 4:17), but it was at hand only in the 
same sense that John took the place of Elijah. Had the Jewish 
nation improved their day of'opportunity, the setting up of the 
Kingdom would have followed immediately after the appearing 
of Messiah, or Christ, at His First Advent. Then there would 
have been no need for the literal coming of Elijah as this event 
was predicted by the prophet Malachi. But this nation did not 
improve its opportunity; rather it rejected the King. For this 
reason the Kingdom was taken from them and was to be given 
to a nation that would yield the fruits (Matt. 21:43). This 
caused delay because the new “nation of kings and priests,” to 
whom the Kingdom was to be given, had not yet been organized 
and would not be completed until the Church, which Christ 
promised to build, had been taken out from among the Gentiles 
(Acts 15:14). 

Further, since both the Jews and the Gentiles had shared the 
guilt of having killed the Prince of Life, and of having cast 
Him out of His inheritance, God planned to give them both 
time for repentance, and to follow this period of grace, accord- 
ing to the Scriptures, with the outpouring of divine judgments 
on all who persisted in their evil ways. This, therefore, would 
make necessary the literal fulfilment also of the prophecy of 
Malachi who predicted the coming of Elijah before the great 
and terrible day of the Lord. 

There should be no question, therefore, but that Elijah the 
prophet, representing the dispensation of the Law, will be one 
of the two Witnesses referred to by the Seer. This is the 
understanding generally held by all such expositors of the Word 
who accept the two Witnesses as persons rather than as systems, 
or as something other if possible even more far fetched and 
ridiculous. 


The Second Witness Also Revealed in Scripture 


Regarding the identity of the second Witness there is un- 
fortunately no general agreement. He has been supposed to be 


TRIBULATION OF COVENANT-KEEPING ISRAEL 229 


Enoch who walked with God and was translated, thus escaping 
death which has been appointed unto all men. Others have 
guessed Samuel the last of the judges, or Moses the law giver, 
or Daniel the greatly beloved prophet, or Peter, or Paul, or 
some other one of the worthies of faith, or of the apostles, but 
all these suppositions have been alike mere guesswork, 

If the Scriptures are allowed to be their own interpreter, then 
there need be no speculation; for the identity of the second 
Witness is as clearly revealed in the Word itself as is the first 
of these Witnesses. Recall the fact that after Peter’s fall and 
restoration to the office of apostleship Jesus predicted the man- 
ner of his death by which he would glorify God. Apparently, 
at that moment seeing John the beloved disciple, Peter asked 
Jesus, “Lord, and what shall this man do?’ The reply was, 
“Tf I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee? Follow 
thou Me.” Were this the end of that incident then Christ’s 
reply was merely a rebuke to idle curiosity. But the incident 
did not end there. John adds this significant statement: 


“Then went this saying abroad among the brethren, that 
that disciple should not die; yet Jesus said not unto him, 
He shall not die, but, of I will that he tarry til I come, 
what is that to thee?” (John 21:20-23). 


This correction of a false report makes it very clear that a 
man may even die, and for a time be taken away from this 
earth, as was the case with John, and yet in some way and by 
some means, he may be permitted, previous to the return of 
Christ, to be here on this earth at the very time of the Second 
Advent of Jesus Christ. Thus after his return to earth such 
an one could tarry till Jesus came. 

Now connect the explanation John has given in correcting the 
false impression received by some from the reply Jesus made 
to Peter with the revelation of the mighty angel Who is Christ 
Himself and Who announced to the Seer, or to John the 
beloved disciple, who had taken the little book out of the angel’s 
hand, “It shall make thy belly bitter.” And why this result? 
Because, as explained to him, “THOU must prophecy again 
before many peoples, nations, tongues and kings.” Since, there- 
fore, it is reasonably certain that the twelve hundred and sixty 


230 IS THE KINGDOM AGE AT HAND? 


days during which these two Witnesses are to prophesy are the 
last three and a half years required to complete the Abrahamic 
Covenant, and since this period is synchronous with the great 
tribulation which is to end with the day of the Lord, and which 
will be followed immediately by the “appearing and kingdom” 
of Christ on this earth, it is evident that John the beloved 
disciple is the second one of these two Witnesses, and that on 
this very occasion will be fulfilled the Lord’s purpose concern- 
ing John: “If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to 
thee?” Of course all the_intervening time, as lost to Israel 
under the Abrahamic Covenant, is not reckoned according to 
God’s method of computing time. All these centuries are re- 
garded a dies non that count for nothing at all in the carrying 
out of God’s purposes and in the fulfilment of His promises. 

And if not at that particular time, and in connection with the 
prophesying of the two Witnesses, then on what occasion men- 
tioned in Scripture would opportunity be afforded the Seer to 
prophesy again before peoples, nations, tongues and kings? 
That will be the last opportunity to testify before such at least 
as oppose and resist the claims concerning the kingship of Jesus 
and His crown rights to possess the earth. And it will be the 
last opportunity for those who will make bitter the condition of 
any one, and even persecute to the death those daring to advo- 
cate such claims as against the then world emperor, the Beast 
that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit, THE ANTICHRIST. 

With the Second Advent the Kingdom will be set up; the 
throne will be established and occupied by the Son of Man Who 
will rule the nations with a rod of iron. Hence there will be no 
occasion in the Kingdom age to testify concerning these things 
before unbelieving opponents who are ready even to kill those 
who tell them the truth. Beside, prophecy is prediction; it re- 
lates to things that are still either in the near or in the far 
distant future, and not at all to things that are past or present 
which would be history and not prophecy. But the announce- 
ment of the angel is that the Seer should prophesy, rather than 
that he should merely relate facts that already have been 
accomplished. 

It appears therefore a necessary conclusion that John the 
beloved disciple, representing the dispensation of Grace, will be 


TRIBULATION OF COVENANT-KEEPING ISRAEL 231 


the second Witness. The Two Witnesses, therefore, who are 
to prophesy for twelve hundred and sixty days clothed in sack- 
cloth, are Elifah the prophet, and John the beloved disciple. 
This fact being established no question remains as to whether 
John the apostle of our Lord or John the Presbyter whom great 
scholarship has brought forward to claim for him the honor, 
wrote this Book of the Revelation of Jesus Christ. 


End of the Sixth Trumpet Judgment 


“And the same hour was there a great earthquake, and 
the tenth part of the city fell, and in the earthquake were 
slain of men seven thousand; and the remnant were af- . 
frighted, and gave glory to the God of heaven. The 
second woe is past; and, behold, the third woe cometh 
quickly” (ch. 11:13, 14). 


This great earthquake and the results that followed occurred 
the same hour that the prophets ascended to heaven in a cloud. 
During the forty and two months of their prophesying they 
were able by the use of miraculous power to not only defend 
themselves from harm at the hands of the Antichrist and his 
followers, but also to inflict great punishment upon their 
enemies. Thus attention will be centered upon them, and in 
consequence the covenant keeping Israelites will also be pro- 
tected from the hate and malice of the same enemies who were 
thirsting for their blood also. Immediately following the re- 
moval of the Witnesses came the earthquake that destroyed the 
city of Jerusalem and slew part of the inhabitants of the city. 

The tenth part and the seven thousand are probably definite 
numbers used relatively. The tenth part may signify the com- 
plete destruction of the city in so far as that might be accom- 
plished by the work of man on account of whose wickedness 
the earthquake was visited upon the city. So likewise the seven 
thousand, seven being the number of dispensational fulness or 
completion, would indicate an indefinite multitude sufficient for 
the final accomplishment of the divine purpose as it stands 
related to the rebellious house of Jacob. The men slain in the 
earthquake evidently refer to those belonging to that rebellious 
house rather than to covenant keeping Israel; and in this part 


232 IS THE KINGDOM AGE AT HAND? 


of the prophecy it is understood that apostate Christendom, or 
the Gentile world of humanity, do not appear at all. 

So also the remnant who were affrighted, and who gave glory 
to the God of heaven, will be those of the house of Jacob who, 
survive the earthquake, and who will be in the city at that 
time. With the removal of the Witnesses and the completion 
of the second woe, the forty-two months will have come to an 
end, and this ends also the period of the sixth trumpet. Six is 
the number of evil, of Satan, and of the Antichrist; hence the 
evil work of man will have come to a full end for this dispensa- 
tion. The slaying of those two Witnesses and the following 
three and a half days of rejoicing over their murdered bodies 
will be the very last acts of the forces of the devil directed 
against any of God’s people. The end of those twelve hundred 
and sixty days will also have brought to a close the times of 
the Gentiles. For them the clock has then struck twelve and 
their day is gone for ever. Now the seventh trumpet will sound, 
and according to Daniel’s prophecy (Dan. 12: 11), within thirty 
days thereafter the winepress of the wrath of God will have 
been trodden without the city ; the forces of the Antichrist will 
have been overthrown and scattered to the winds on the Bloody 
field of Armageddon, and the Antichrist himself, and also the 
false prophet, will have been cast into the lake of fire, which is 
the second death. 


The Seventh Trumpet Judgment 


“And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great 
voices in heaven, saying, The Kingdoms of this world are 
become the KkinGpom of our Lord, and of His anointed 
one (the true Church, the Bride of the Lamb); and He 
shall reign for the acre of the ages” (ch. 11:15). 


The mighty angel Who had come down from heaven had 
declared to His beloved disciple, “In the days of the voice of 
the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery 
of God shall be finished.” And here the mystery is cleared 
up; not by any mere human testimony even though it be that 
of inspired prophets and apostles of Jesus Christ, but rather by 
the great voices in heaven. It is the mystery of the Kingdom 
concerning which the thought of such a multitude of God’s dear 


TRIBULATION OF COVENANT-KEEPING ISRAEL 233 


children, from the third century to the present time, has been 
so terribly confused and muddled. For this sad fact Origen is 
responsible. He introduced the method of so-called “spiritual 
interpretation” which substitutes eisogesis for exegesis, and 
thus is dismissed the Holy Spirit as the tia and Guide 
concerning the truth of divine revelation. 

Here it is revealed that the kingdom is a teal entity ; it 
includes all the kingdoms of this material earth, and this is the 
fact whether it be described in Scripture as the Kingdom of 
God because He will establish it, or the kingdom of heaven 
which reveals its character and supreme object as not meat and 
drink, but righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Ghost, or 
the Kingdom of God’s dear Son because Christ will sit in its 
throne, or the kingdom prepared for God’s children from the 
foundation of the world, this habitable earth, because it is the 
Father’s good pleasure to give such the kingdom as joint-heirs 
with Christ,—it matters not how described for in any case when 
the seventh angel begins to sound, Jesus Christ, the only right- 
ful Proprietor, becomes the actual Possessor of all the king- 
doms of this world, and He shall reign as King for the age of 
the ages. 


The Witness of the Four and Twenty Elders 


“And the four and twenty elders, which sat before God 
on their seats, fell upon their faces, and worshiped God, 
saying, We give Thee thanks, O Lord God Almighty, 
Who art, and wast, and art to come; because Thou hast 
taken to Thee Thy great power, and hast reigned. And 
the nations were angry, and Thy wrath is come, and the 
time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that 
Thou shouldest give reward unto Thy servants the proph- 
ets, and to the saints, and them that fear Thy name, small 
and great; and shouldest destroy them who destroy the 
earth” (ch. 11:16-18). 


It is little wonder that the twenty-four elders, representative 
of the risen saints, prostrate themselves before the throne and 
worship God. They witness to His Omnipotence, to His Eter- 
nity and to His benign purpose to come again and take posses- 
sion of this portion of His creation. They witness to the fact 
that He has taken His great power and reigned over earth’s 


234 IS THE KINGDOM AGE AT HAND? 


inhabitants. And as the result of this renewed exercise of His 
sovereignty, exhibited by sending on the earth and upon its 
rebellious peoples the terrible judgments of the great tribula- 
tion, the nations were angry and in response His wrath came 
upon them. How insignificant the anger of the nations in con- 
trast with the wrath of offended Deity! The nations may rage 
as they please, and the people imagine a vain thing, but 


“He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord 
shall have them in derision. Then shall He speak unto 
them, in His wrath, and vex them in His sore displeasure” 


CRs" 24,50: 


Now the time has come, with the sounding of the seventh 
trumpet, and God is about to speak unto the nations in His 
wrath. The elders further witness to the fact that then will 
be the time to judge the righteous dead. Their resurrection 
began when Christ arose from the dead; it will be continued at 
Christ’s appearing for the gathering of the saints together 
unto Himself, and it will be finally completed at the very 
beginning of the Kingdom Age. All such of the dead will have 
part in the first resurrection, but every man in his own order. 
Then also will be the time that God will reward His servants 
the prophets, and His saints, and all that fear His name, small 
and great,—all such shall then be rewarded according as every 
man’s work shall appear, and then those who have destroyed 
the earth shall themselves be destroyed. Such will be the praise 
and adoration of the elders as at that time, the sounding of 
the seventh trumpet, they unite in the worship of God. 


The Temple Opened in Heaven 


“And the temple of God was opened in heaven, and 
there was seen in His temple the ark of His testament: 
and there were lightnings, and voices, and thunderings, 
and an earthquake, and great hail” (ch. 11:19). 


The ark of the testament seen in the opened temple was 
God’s Covenant with faithful Abraham which then will have 
been completely fulfilled. The four hundred and ninety years 
having ended, God is ready to fulfil His promises, and to 
distribute to Abraham and to his seed the blessings. The light- 


TRIBULATION OF COVENANT-KEEPING ISRAEL 235 


nings, voices, thunderings, earthquake and hail are all connected 
with the last plague that fills up the wrath of God. The results 
will appear when the pouring out of the seventh bowl of wrath 
is considered. However, these judgments will not affect Israel, 
nor yet that portion of the house of Jacob which returned to 
their allegiance, and gave due glory to the God of heaven before 
the seventh angel sounded. Hence this final judgment in the 
great and dreadful day of the Lord, while referred to here, yet 
is not fully revealed in this vision because only God’s dealings 
with the seed of Abraham are here shown. His dealings with 
Gentile nations appear later in this prophecy. 


CHAPTER XXI 
SATAN’S ENMITY DIRECTED AGAINST ISRAEL 


Visions Preparatory to the Bowls of Wrath 

Preparatory to the sending forth of the seven epistles which 
predict the character and condition of the Visible Church from 
the beginning to the end of the dispensation of the grace of 
God, the Seer received the vision of the glorified Son of Man 
walking in the midst of the churches and holding in His hand, 
under His own control, the angels or spirits of ministry, who 
represent the churches. 

Also, before the opening of the first four seals during which 
appear the character and condition of the Gentile world as ruled 
by Satan its prince, and before the opening of the remaining 
three seals during which are described the character and con- 
dition of unbelieving Israel whom God had cast away for the 
time, John is called up to heaven to behold the Occupant of the 
rainbow throne of judgment, the four living creatures, the 
twenty-four elders, the Holy Spirit of God in dispensational 
power and fulness, and especially the Lion of the tribe of 
Judah, the Lamb that had been slain, each and all of whom 
have an interest and a part to take in the affairs of this earth 
as they have been carried on ever since Jesus ascended. 

Likewise, before the sounding of the first six trumpets, the 
Seer has a vision of the sealed ones out of all the tribes of 
Israel, of the innumerable multitude of the redeemed of every 
nation who have come out of the great tribulation, of the altar, 
of the angel (Christ) with the golden censer offering much 
incense, with the prayers of (Hebrew) saints, the smoke of 
which ascended up before God; and before the seventh trumpet 
sounded he received a vision of covenant-keeping Israel and 
of God’s two Witnesses. 

So now, following the same plan, before the outpouring of 

236 


SATAN’S ENMITY DIRECTED AGAINST ISRAEL 237 


the bowls of the wrath of God Almighty, John has a vision 
that reveals the character and condition of the whole house of 
Israel, of Satan the accepted god of the age, of those who will 
be the Devil’s chief agents during the last seven years of the 
times of the Gentiles, of the beasts out of the sea and out of 
the earth, of the harvest of the earth and of the vintage of the 
vine of the earth both of which are to be reaped by the glorified 
Son of Man just before the present evil age comes to an end. 
Only after these things will the way be prepared for the King- 
dom age and its blessings. 


The First Wonder Seen in Heaven 


“And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a 
woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, 
and upon her head a crown of twelve stars: And she 
being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to 
be delivered” (ch. 12:1, 2). 


The heaven here referred to is not the heaven of the judg- 
ment throne; rather, it is the heaven of the stars, or the sky 
that is above the earth. The exalted position and the descrip- 
tion of the woman, according to Scripture imagery, signify 
that she is enjoying divine fellowship and favor; God has 
blessed her. She is clothed with the sun which signifies that 
she has knowledge and understanding of spiritual truth. She 
has put from her and placed under her feet the moon, the lesser 
light that rules only the darkness of this world, and which 
represents mere human wisdom and understanding with all its 
absurd theories and foolish speculations regarding all things 
spiritual, especially the great truths of divine revelation which 
God has graciously given for man’s learning rather than for 
dispute and denial. Like the prodigal in the far country, who 
when he came to himself at once arose and resolved to return 
to his father and to his father’s house, so this woman has come 
to herself and has returned to God Who has had mercy upon 
her and abundantly pardoned her. And as the fatted calf, the 
best raiment and the ring were provided for the returned 
prodigal of the parable, so for this returned daughter there 1s 
brought forth the crown.of twelve stars and it is placed upon 
her head. 


238 IS THE KINGDOM AGE AT HAND? 


The Royal Tribe of Judah 

This woman represents the tribe of Judah, the royal tribe of 
king David and of David’s Son Who is also his Lord, even 
Jesus Christ. The crown of twelve stars is the diadem of the 
house of David whom God anointed to reign over the twelve 
tribes of Israel. 

Here then appears to the Seer this Woman restored to her 
rightful place among her brethren, and exalted to the heaven 
because she has made her way right with God. The tribe of 
Judah, or the Jews as they are now called, were greatly hated 
by their own brethren (Isa. 9:21), and because of the great 
wickedness of the people of that tribe God refused to regard 
even the entreaties of the prophet on their behalf, and declared, 
He would remove them into all the kingdoms of the earth. But 
at the same time God also promised that if they would -return 
to Him then He would exalt them, and make them to be a 
blessing and a protection to their brethren (Jer. 14: 19-22; 
I5: 1-21). Further, in the day of deliverance from the terrible 
one, the Antichrist, God promised to save Judah first (Zech. 
12:7), that in that day that tribe might share the glory of the 
house of David and of all the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 

But before honor cometh humility, This woman whom the 
Seer beheld exalted, gloriously arrayed and crowned, is seen to 
be with child, and in anguish because of her birth pangs, she 
crieth out. Her terrible anguish signifies the remorse and 
godly sorrow of true repentance that will be experienced when 
the conviction that Jesus Whom she crucified was indeed her 
divine Lord takes hold of this woman and is ready for birth. 
The old prophet Isaiah (26:16, 17) records the song that shall 
be sung in that day in the land of Judah, and the song of its 
people, the members of that same tribe, of whom he says, 


“Lord, in trouble have they visited Thee, they poured 
out a prayer when Thy chastening was upon them. Like 
as a woman with child, that draweth near the time of 
her delivery, is in pain, and crieth out in her pangs: so 
have we been in Thy sight O Lord.” 


Such then will be the anguish of that people, comparable only 
with the pangs of a woman in travail, in the day of dawning 


SATAN’S ENMITY DIRECTED AGAINST ISRAEL 239 


consciousness that will bring to the birth the conviction that the 
lowly Nazarene was in very truth God’s anointed Messiah, and 
that through all the past centuries they have despised and re- 
jected their King, the Son of David and the Son of God Whom 
their fathers helped to crucify and invited the curse of His 
blood to rest on themselves and on their children. 


The Second Wonder Seen in Heaven 


“And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and 
behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten 
horns, and seven crowns upon his heads. And his tail 
drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast 
them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman 
which was ready to be delivered, (waiting) for (his op- 
portunity) to devour her child as soon as it was born” 
CCH nE2 234) 


In this imagery the great red dragon is Satan; his seven 
crowned heads represent all the rulers or kings then on the 
earth in the empire of the Beast, the Antichrist. The ten horns 
set forth figuratively the ten kingdoms, or the ten toes of 
Daniel’s image, over which the earth-kings rule by permission 
of the Devil who possesses and claims the right to give the 
power and glory of these kingdoms to whomsoever he will. 
The stars drawn by his tail and cast to the earth are those of 
the house of Jacob, the undevout and unbelieving Israelites, who 
will make their Covenant with the Antichrist. Such persons, as 
God’s covenant people, hold an exalted position, even as the 
stars in the firmament, but in league with the Antichrist, they 
are cast down to the earth from the position which is theirs 
under the Abrahamic Covenant. Before this woman stands 
Satan to devour her child. This signifies the satanic effort to 
destroy all conviction or consciousness in the thought of the 
natural seed of Abraham concerning the truth and reality that 
Jesus Christ is in very deed their promised Messiah. This 
conviction probably will come at first to the tribe of Judah; 
later it will be shared by the other tribes of Israel. Hence in 
this vision Satan is seen standing before the woman, Judah, to 
destroy if possible such a conviction at its very birth. 


240 IS THE KINGDOM AGE AT HAND? 
The Child Who Will Rule Ali Nations 


“And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all 
nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up 
unto God, and to His throne. And the woman fled into 
the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, 
that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred 
and threescore days” (ch. 12:5, 6). 


In spite of all Satan can do to prevent it the conviction con- 
cerning the true Person and character of Jesus Christ will 
mature in the mind and thought of Judah. That fact is here 
symbolized as a birth: the child was born. But along with 
the conviction that Jesus was her child, and when with the love 
of a mother for her first born this woman, Judah, was ready to 
receive and embrace her child, then came also the consciousness 
that the child had been taken from her; for He was caught up 
to God and to His throne. She was thus bereft of the Son to 
whom she looked to rule the Nations, and in that moment of 
keen sorrow and disappointment the words of the prophet will 
probably give expression to the thought of Judah: 


“We have been with child, we have been in pain, we 
have as it were brought forth wind: we have not wrought 
any deliverance in the earth: neither have the inhabi- 
tants of the world fallen” (Isa. 26:18). 


In the moment of conscious possession of the true Messiah 
He was lost to her, and so the Gentile nations retained their 
power, and at that very time their great armies were advancing 
to besiege Jerusalem. For since Antichrist had broken the 
covenant and had proclaimed himself God in their temple they 
had probably refused to recognize or worship him; hence that 
nation was to be further subjected to persecution, especially 
that portion of the nation, Judah, which had given birth to the 
man child and now lamented His having been taken away. But 
this woman is then comforted (Isa. 26: 19-21), and obeys the 
call to flee into the wilderness to the place prepared for her 
where God would protect and provide for her during the twelve 
hundred and sixty days, or three and a half years. The place 
prepared for this woman in the wilderness is not revealed but it 
will probably be somewhere in the mountains that surround 


SATAN’S ENMITY DIRECTED AGAINST ISRAEL 241 


Jerusalem and at no great distance from the holy city. Thus 
before the siege actually begins it will be possible for believing 
Jews to flee thither and find safety; for in some way and by 
some means God will protect and provide for His own people 
that put their trust in Him (Matt. 24: 15-28). 


The War in Heaven 


“And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels 
fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and 
his angels, and prevailed not; neither was their place 
found any more in heaven. And the great dragon was 
cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, 
who deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the 
earth, and his angels were cast out with him” (ch. 12:7-9). 


Among the angelic hosts who serve God there is both order 
and rank. And archangels, of whom Michael is one, belong to 
the superior rank and direct the work of subordinate angels. 
These archangels appear to be appointed by God to look after 
the welfare of different nations, and Michael is the great prince 
who stands for the Jews (Dan. 12:1). 

Of course the wisdom of modern scholarship laughs to scorn 
such suggestions as being nothing of more worth than the 
ignorant superstitions and folk lore of a very primitive people 
who had not sprung quite as far from the state of being 
monkeys as these moderns claim they have sprung, because 
they are possessed of much greater and of unusual springing 
ability. But this same infidel scholarship sneers at everything 
supernatural, and those who believe in the supernatural, and 
who believe in the Bible as a supernatural revelation will be 
satisfied to consider themselves members of a race which God 
created in His own likeness and image; to believe also that the 
race is fallen and doomed to perish except as saved by grace 
through the precious blood of the Son of God, which was shed 
on Calvary for the remission of sins, and to believe all other 
truths taught in the Bible, including the truth revealed con- 
cerning the holy angels, and not less to believe the truth taught 
concerning the fallen angels of whom that old serpent, the 
Devil, is the chief. 

And as this book is written for humble believers in Christ 


242 IS THE KINGDOM AGE AT HAND? 


rather than for the boastful and proud rejectors of the only 
Mediator between God and man, the Man Christ Jesus, it is 
proposed to present what the Scriptures teach without any con- 
cern for the scorn and sneers of infidelity. 

And on the authority of the Bible we know that today Satan 
is the prince of the powers of the air and that these powers are 
his angels who serve under his command (Eph. 2:2). Here, 
therefore, when God’s people, Israel, are about to be scourged 
by the Gentile nations, impelled by Satan to perform evil deeds ; 
behold, there is war in heaven, or in the sky or air: Michael and 
his angels fight against the dragon and his angels with the 
result that these satanic forces are cast out into the earth, and 
no more will they be allowed, after that event, to direct the 
affairs of earth from their vantage point in the air. 


The Triumph of Good Over Evil 


“And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is 
come salvation, and strength, and the Kingdom of our 
God, and the power of His Christ: for the accuser of our 
brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God 
day and night. And they overcame him by the blood of 
the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they 
loved not their lives unto the death” (ch. 12:10, 11). 


These forces of evil, under the command of Satan who de- 
ceiveth the whole world, although cast out into the earth will 
be permitted for a brief period to continue their evil work 
among men. But there will be no longer opportunity, as there 
evidently is today, for the accuser, the Devil, in any wise or by 
any means to influence God’s relation to or His dealings with 
the children of men, and especially with the seed of Abraham. 
At that time the Devil’s place will be on the earth, and since 
neither he nor his angels have any faith in prayer, or are willing 
to approach God through the Mediator, they will have no means 
whatever for communicating with God Who will then be again 
interesting Himself in those who are related to Him in the 
Abrahamic Covenant, and who, therefore, helped by divine 
grace, will be able to overcome Satan by the blood of the Lamb 
and by their faithful testimony even unto death. Hence the 
heavenly voice proclaims: 


SATAN’S ENMITY DIRECTED AGAINST ISRAEL 243 


“Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in 
them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the 
sea! for the Devil is come down unto you, having great 
wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time” 
(Oioi2 12}; 


Since in that day the time remaining to the Devil will be 
exceedingly limited, he will redouble his efforts to push forward 
his evil plans to completion, and thus only make more certain 
and terrible the doom that will overtake his dupes and followers. 
Hence woe is pronounced upon the inhabiters of the earth and 
of the sea (the shipmasters and sailors) who will lose their 
lives in their efforts to save them, while in contrast believing 
Israel are a cause for the heavens to rejoice because by the 
blood of the Lamb and by their testimony they will gain the 
victory over Satan, and by laying down their lives they will 
save them unto life eternal (John 12:25). 


Satan’s Final Effort to Destroy Faith on the Earth 


“And when the dragon saw that he was cast unto the 
earth, he persecuted the woman which brought forth the 
man child. And to the woman were given two wings of a 
great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into 
her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, 
and half a time, from the face of the serpent. And the 
serpent cast out of his mouth water as a flood after the 
woman, that he might cause her to be carried away of the 
flood. And the earth helped the woman, and the earth 
opened her mouth, and swallowed up the flood which the 
dragon cast out of his mouth” (ch, 12:13-16). 


Faith is the victory that overcometh the world. It is, there- 
fore, the fortress that Satan must overthrow before he can hope 
to accomplish his evil purposes. For this reason those who 
have faith in the Son of God have always been on the line of 
battle between good and evil, light and darkness, and against 
them the Devil has ever directed his fiercest assaults. Hence 
being cast unto the earth his effort is at once directed against 
the woman, Judah, which brought forth the man child and she 
becomes the object of persecution; but God had prepared a 
place for her and she was enabled to escape her persecutor. 
The great eagle that can move among the clouds above the earth 


24:4: IS THE KINGDOM AGE AT HAND? 


represents human intelligence; and the two wings of this eagle 
by means of which God makes it possible for his people to 
defeat the malice of their persecutor, the Devil, are faith and 
obedience. 

At that time God will give to Judah those wings and they 
will be used by the Jews to find safety in flight from their cruel 
enemies who seek to blot out their remembrance from the earth. 
Thus in the prepared place the woman will be cared for and 
protected for a time, times, and a half time. According to the 
Jewish mode of reckoning, “a time” equals a year, “times” 
equal two years, and “a half time” equals six months. Thus 
while the holy city was to be trodden under foot of the Gentiles 
forty two months, or three and a half years, and while the two 
Witnesses were to prophesy twelve hundred and sixty days, or 
three and a half years, so also the woman was to be nourished 
for a time, times, and half a time, or three and a half years. 
Each of these periods equal and synchronize with the prophet 
Daniel’s “in the midst of the (year) week” at which time the 
Antichrist will break his Covenant with the Jews, and the end 
of which time will fill up the four hundred and ninety years 
that will complete the Abrahamic Covenant, bring in everlasting 
righteousness and witness the anointing of the Most Holy One, 
even Christ Jesus our Lord, as the King of all the earth. 


The Holy City Besieged by the Army of Antichrist 

In the imagery of Scripture water is frequently used as a 
simile for a great nation or nations (Isa. 8:7, 8; Jer. 46: 7, 8), 
and this evidently is what should be understood by the water as 
a flood that is cast out of the mouth of the serpent, or that is 
controlled by his word of mouth. 

If there is any one thing more than another emphasized in 
Old Testament prophecy it is the fact that the natural seed of 
Abraham, after being scattered among all nations, will in due 
time return to the land of their fathers, rebuild their city and 
temple, and that in the latter days of the history of that people 
which will be the period of great tribulation 


“All nations shall be gathered against Jerusalem to 
battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, 
and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go 


SATAN’S ENMITY DIRECTED AGAINST ISRAEL 245 


forth into captivity (probably surrender voluntarily in 
the hope of saving themselves from hunger, wounds, and 
death), and the RESIDUE OF THE PEOPLE SHALL NOT BE 
CUT OFF FROM THE city” (Zech. 14:2). 


That mighty army will be commanded by the Antichrist who 
will be the incarnation of Satan, and since that army will be 
under the control of the Devil it is figuratively described as a 
flood of water cast out of his mouth. Primarily that great army 
will have been sent forth against the woman, Judah, but since 
the fact of her flight to a place of safety is unknown to the 
enemy the city will be besieged and the country all around 
Jerusalem for many miles, including even the place in which 
Judah has found a safe refuge, will be in the possession of the 
attacking forces. Thus even those represented by the woman 
would ultimately perish but for divine intervention which will 
be provided; for the earth will open her mouth and swallow up 
the flood. 

It has been suggested that possibly jealousy and strife among 
the different nations included in that army will cause the enemy 
as an earth power to destroy himself the same as in former 
days when Ammon, Moab and Mount Seir first united to de- 
stroy Judah, but quickly fell out among themselves and helped 
every one to destroy another (2 Chron. 20: 22-25). However, 
that would not be the earth opening her mouth and swallowing 
them up which was “the new thing” that Moses declared would 
be the fate of Korah, Dathan and Abiram, and that was nothing 
other than an earthquake (Num. 16: 30-34). And it will be 
an earthquake, as revealed in connection with the seventh bowl 
of wrath, that will swallow up in part the army of the besiegers, 
and cause the rest of that army to fall back to the field of 
Armageddon where it will be finally annihilated by the great 
hail storm. 


The Remnant of Her Seed 


“And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went 
to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep 
the commandments of God, and have the testimony of 
Jesusn (che r2:37), 


246 IS THE KINGDOM AGE AT HAND? 


It is to be noted that while the remnant of her (the woman’s) 
seed keep the commandments of God, it is not said that they 
hold, but rather that they have the testimony of Jesus. In 
other words, although this remnant of Judah have not as yet 
become Christians, still they have received and so have the 
testimony concerning Jesus and His claims to be their Messiah. 
As the hundred and forty-four thousand, gathered out of all 
the tribes and sealed just before the judgment began, probably 
represent the remnant of Israel (of the whole nation) (Rom. 
II: 7-12) who will turn to Jesus as their Messiah and who will 
be His Witnesses after the removal of the True Church; and 
as the woman beautifully arrayed and crowned represents the 
tribe of Judah, as they stand related to Christ before the 
tribulation begins, penitent, believing and willing to receive and 
welcome Jesus as their Messiah, so the remnant of her seed 
represents Jews who appear as worshipers in the temple (Rev. 
II: 1) who are devoutly religious; for they keep the command- 
ments of God, but who, although they have received the testi- 
mony of Jesus probably from the lips of the two Witnesses, still 
like doubting Thomas will not believe unless they are permitted 
to look upon Him Whom they have pierced, and unless they 
have physical demonstration concerning the facts of His death, 
resurrection, ascension and coming again as King to reign on 
the earth. Failing to destroy the woman it was against this 
Jewish remnant that the dragon went to make war. 

This remnant will be in the final siege of Jerusalem when it 
is invested by the nations under the command of Antichrist, 
and they will be among the chief and most valiant defenders 
of the holy city (Zech. 10: 3-6; 12:2-9). But while during 
the three and a half years of the siege, their sufferings will be 
terrible, yet at the end of that time God will be for them a 
Refuge, and a very present Help in trouble (Ps. 46: 1-3), and 
following the destruction of the nations that have fought 
against Jerusalem this Jewish remnant shall look upon Him 
Whom they have pierced and experience the bitterness of true 
penitence which will assure their pardon and acceptance by the 
Messiah (Zech. 12: 9-14; 13:1). 


CHAPTER XXIT 
SATAN’S CHIEF AGENTS IN THE LATTER DAYS 


The Beast Out of the Sea 


“And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast 
rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, 
and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the ° 
name of blasphemy. And the beast which I saw was like 
unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, 
and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon 
gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority. 
And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; 
and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world won- 
dered after the beast” (ch. 13:1-3). 


It is generally recognized that in the imagery of Scripture 
“the sea” represents merely the populace, or the unorganized 
mass of people (Dan. 7: 1-3; Matt. 13: 47-50), and from such 
a sea the Beast is observed to rise up. This Beast which is seen 
by John to rise up out of the sea is identical with the fourth 
beast which appears in the vision given to Daniel (7:7, 8) and 
in each case the description very closely resembles the descrip- 
tion of the great red dragon. 

The ten horns represent the confederated ten-kingdom em- 
pire which will cover the territory formerly occupied by ancient 
Rome, and these kingdoms correspond to the ten toes on the 
great image as seen by Nebuchadnezzar (Dan. 2: 41, 42; 7: 7, 
8; Rev. 17: 12), and as they will appear in due time to supply 
the last form of Gentile world power. 

As this Beast is observed by the Seer, he has a crown on each 
of his ten horns, while these crowns are seen on the seven 
heads of the dragon, rather than on his horns. The explanation 
for this difference is found in Daniel (7:8) where it is written: 


“T considered the (ten) horns, and, behold, there came 
up among them another little horn, before whom there 


247 


248 IS THE KINGDOM AGE AT HAND? 


were three of the first horns plucked up by the roots: and, 
behold, in this horn were eyes like a man, and a mouth 
speaking great things.” 


It is thus revealed that although the ten horns or kingdoms 
remain, there were left only seven crowned heads which will be 
the final form of the empire as it appears in the description of 
the dragon. But as the empire appeared to the Seer each of 
the ten horns was crowned because “the little horn” had not as 
yet plucked up by the roots the three horns of the Beast, and 
because the Beast, or the Antichrist, who will finally become the 
head of this confederacy and the world emperor, had not as yet 
received from the dragon his power, seat and great authority, 
as these are now to be conferred upon him as declared in this 
vision. 

The Beast resembled a leopard, although he had the feet of 
a bear and the mouth of a lion. Each of these three animals 
appear as symbols of the three empires that preceded Rome 
(Dan. 7: 4-6), and this description of the empire of the Beast 
would indicate that the characteristics of each of these three 
animals will be found in it. Thus it will have the swiftness of 
the leopard to spring on its victim, the tenacity of the bear in 
the pursuit of its purpose, and the strength and. voracity of the 
lion to overcome opposition and to devour its prey. 

To the head of this Beast, the Antichrist, the dragon gives 
his power, seat and great authority, or in other words, the Beast 
becomes for a time the very incarnation of Satan even as the 
Man Christ Jesus possessed the fulness of the godhead bodily, 
or incarnate in himself. Such then will be the character of the 
Gentile empire that in the latter days will appear as the last 
form of world power and that will bear rule over all the earth. 


Antichrist the Head of the Beast 


This great beastly empire is so designated because of its 
satanic origin and control, and because its character and spirit 
will have no relation whatever to things that are true or honest 
or just or pure or lovely or of good report any more than have 
the wild beasts of the earth. Rather its spirit will be as 
ferocious, cruel and blood-thirtsy as that of the great red 


SATAN’S CHIEF AGENTS IN THE LATTER DAYS 249 


dragon, the Devil, who claims it as his own, and who claims 
also the right to give it to whomsoever he will. The final form 
of Gentile world power will be thus indeed a beastly empire; it 
will also have a supreme ruler or head whom Satan has ap- 
pointed to the place and who is called THE BEAST because he 
represents the empire, and because he will be Satan’s chief 
agent on the earth at that time to carry out the will, and to 
perform the work of the Devil. And it is to The Beast that 
Satan transfers his power, seat and authority. This head of 
the empire will be the Antichrist who now appears in the vision 
as that one of the seven beastly heads as it were wounded to 
death, whose death wound was healed and after whom all the 
world of the ungodly wondered. 
As to this head Dr. Scofield explains as follows: 


“Fragments of the ancient Roman empire have never 
ceased to exist as separate kingdoms. It was the imperial 
form of government that ceased; the one head wounded to 
death. What we have prophetically in Rev. 13:3 is the 
restoration of the imperial form as such, though over a 
federated empire of ten kingdoms; the ‘head’ is ‘healed,’ 
i. e., restored, there is an emperor again,—the Beast.” 


If that interpretation be correct, then since an emperor is 
neither a new nor a strange thing on the continent of Europe 
such an explanation entirely fails to account for the fact that 
the whole world WONDERED after the Beast. The recent 
German emperor was the imperial head of a federated empire, 
and today the king of Great Britain is such a head, yet no one 
wonders at the fact and much less the whole world. 

A very different explanation therefore is necessary, and an 
interpretation is here offered of this head wounded unto death 
and healed that is acceptable and that is held by many reputable 
Christian scholars and expositors of the Word who are no less 
distinguished than was the beloved Dr. Scofield. 


The Beast Comes From the Bottomless Pit 

Twice at least in the Book of the Revelation the Beast, who 
is generally understood to be the Antichrist, and who as the 
head of the beastly empire will be the world emperor, is de- 
clared to be one that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit (Rev. 


250 IS THE KINGDOM AGE AT HAND? 


11:7; 17:8). Further, the Scriptures plainly reveal that the 
Beast, or world emperor, is a man and not a mere system, or 
any form of government whether the “imperial” or some other 
form, This man will serve Satan’s purpose during the last 
seven years of the times of the Gentiles and will resist the 
Christ in His taking possession of this earth. And since he 
ascends out of the bottomless pit it follows that previously he 
must have experienced death, and therefore will be raised from 
the dead by the power of Satan. Thus as one actually raised 
to life again the Beast will be presented to the world and under 
such circumstances it will not be strange that a godless world, 
including theological professors and other worldly wise men 
who deny the supernatural, should wonder after the Beast. 
Such a possibility should not appear incredible to any one 
who truly believes the Scriptures today. Satan has been given 
the power of death (Heb. 2:14), and further, at the time of 
the first woe trumpet, to him or to one of his chief representa- 
tives there will be given the key, or the power, to open the 
bottomless pit which for the present is the abode of lost souls; 
and still further, as revealed in the Bible, that power will be 
used by Satan at that time to open the pit and to release some 
at least of its occupants who thereupon will enter into locusts 
in which they will become embodied, and for five months these 
demons will be permitted to torment the dwellers on the earth. 
That will be one of the supernatural events of that period and 
it certainly will be no greater miracle if one such lost soul is 
released from the pit and permitted by Satan to enter into some 
dead body which thereupon will be restored to life again. That 
such is the correct understanding and interpretation of this 
head of the beastly empire as it were wounded to death, and 
his deadly wound was healed, is believed by many intelligent 
Christian scholars and sound expositors of Scripture. 


As a Religious Being Man Must Worship Some Person or 
Thing 


“And they worshiped the dragon who gave power unto 
the Beast: and they worshiped the Beast, saying, Who is 
like unto the Beast? who is able to make war with him? 
And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great 
things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to 


SATAN’S CHIEF AGENTS IN THE LATTER DAYS 251 


continue forty and two months. And he opened his mouth 
in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme His name, and 
His tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven” (ch. 
13 :4-6). 


Those of mankind who do not worship the true God will 
and do worship idols of their own choosing and generally of 
their own making and workmanship. Speaking of the un- 
regenerate world the apostle Paul declared they had “changed 
the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to 
corruptible man and to birds and fourfooted beasts and creep- 
ing things” (Rom. 1:23). The truth of this statement is still 
abundantly evident; for go where you will over the earth you 
find man a worshiper if not of the only living and true God 
he is nevertheless a worshiper of some thing, And in this 
beastly empire both the dragon, or the Devil, and also the 
Beast, or Antichrist, will be worshiped, and the latter especially 
will be adored and glorified. He also will have a mouth to 
speak great things and blasphemies the same as “the little 
horn” of Daniel’s prophecy (Dan. 7:8). This is the same 
person mentioned by Paul the apostle when he wrote concerning 
the coming of the man of sin, the lawless one, the son of 
perdition, 

“Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is 


called God, or that is worshiped; so that he as God sitteth 
in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.” 


And again of this same person Paul declares: 


“Whose coming is after the working of Satan with all 
power, and signs, and lying wonders, and with all de- 
ceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; be- 
cause they receive not the love of the truth, that they 
might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them 
strong delusions, that they should believe a lie: that they 
might be damned who believe not the truth, but had pleas- 
ure in unrighteousness” (2 Thes. 2:3-12). 


Of this person, the Antichrist, who was worshiped as God, 
and who dared to blaspheme God and them that dwell in the 
heavens, the Seer adds: 


252 IS THE KINGDOM AGE AT HAND? 


“And it was given unto him to make war with the 
(Jewish) saints, and to overcome them: and power was 
given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations. 
And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, 
whose names are not written in the book of life of the 
Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. If any 
man have an ear, let him hear” (ch. 13:7-9). 


At that time the Israelites will be the only saints of God on 
the earth, and against them the Beast has power to make war 
and to overcome them, and he has power also over all nations, 
and he is to be worshiped by all except those whose names are 
written in the Lamb’s book of life. And this monster of 
iniquity will have power, and be the world emperor for seven 
years, or from the time that the Visible Church becomes 
apostate until the end of the times of the Gentiles. It is during 
this same time that God once again deals with Israel under the 
Abrahamic Covenant, and is their Protector especially during 
the last three and a half years, or the forty two months when 
Judah and Israel will experience to the full the power, greed, 
selfish ambition, oppression and cruelty which the Antichrist 
will exhibit in all of his dealings with them. 


The Days Shortened for the Elect’s Sake 

And this people may well thank God that this terrible reign 
of the Antichrist will be limited to a comparatively brief period ; 
for at the same time and during all of these seven years, divine 
judgments will quickly follow one another as God sends them 
on the earth,—judgments that will become more and more 
terrifying and destructive of both property and life as the end 
of the age draws near, and that in some cases will cause physical 
suffering so severe that men will seek death, which will flee 
from them, and so they will be compelled to abide on the earth 
which has become a veritable hell where they are being 
tormented. 

Those who may think that such a picture of conditions on 
the earth at that time, as they are here described, are greatly 
overdrawn and grossly exaggerated will do well to ponder these 
words of the meek, lowly and loving Jesus: 


SATAN’S CHIEF AGENTS IN THE LATTER DAYS 253 


“Then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since 
the beginning of the world to this time. No, nor ever 
shall be (again).” 


Think of it! Jesus Himself testifies that the tribulation to 
be experienced by earth’s inhabitants during that period shall 
be greater than any of the terrible judgments that were ever 
experienced by the children of Israel in all their past history; 
greater than the plagues that wasted and desolated the land of 
Egypt, and that so terrified the Egyptians in the days of Moses; 
greater even than the judgments that overwhelmed and blotted 
from off the earth the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. And 
because conditions that will then prevail on the earth are be- 
yond the power of words to exaggerate Jesus added: 


“Except those days should be shortened, there should 
no flesh be saved (alive on earth): but for the elect’s 
sake (the children of Abraham) those days shall be short- 
ened” (Matt. 24:21,22). 


Is it any wonder the Seer writes, “If any man have an ear 
(for the truth of divine revelation), let him hear?’ And he 
adds: 


“He that leadeth into captivity (Satan) shall go into 
captivity; he that killeth with the sword (the Antichrist) 
must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and 
the faith of the saints (the Jewish people)” (ch. 13:10). 


This is a note of consolation and also of warning: It is 
consoling because it predicts the defeat and the entire over- 
throw of the Beast and of all those associated with him in the 
unholy war against Christ and His saints. Satan, the great red 
dragon, will go into captivity for a thousand years. And 
Antichrist, the Beast out of the bottomless pit, and his followers 
shall be killed with the sword and so perish from the earth. 
But it is also a warning to the seed of Abraham, and especially 
to the Jews, the tribe of Judah, who are the saints, or such as 
are set apart unto God and in covenant with Him, whose faith 
and patience will then be tried. During all of the forty two 
months it will be this people who will be the special objects of 
the Beast’s hatred, and against them in the first place he will 


254 IS THE KINGDOM AGE AT HAND? 


make war. Their suffering and privation in connection with the 
siege of Jerusalem will be all that hellish cunning and malignity 
can devise, and thus their patience and faith will be put to a 
most severe test. These facts are duly revealed so that they 
may know and understand just what lies before them, and be 
prepared for the same. But when these conditions are actually 
experienced, then it will be for their consolation to know that 
the same Almighty God Who predicted these things concerning 
them has also promised to deliver them in due time out of all 
their troubles. 


The Beast Out of the Earth 


Preliminary to the pouring out of the seven bowls of the 
wrath of God that will be visited on the earth in the latter days, 
or during the last seven years of the times of the Gentiles, the 
Seer has already directed attention to six of the characters who 
will be the prominent actors on the stage of world history at 
that time within the empire of the Beast: (1) The woman, or 
the royal tribe of Judah; (2) The red dragon, or Satan; (3) 
The Child, or Christ Who shall rule all nations; (4) The 
archangel Michael, the great prince who stands for the Jewish 
nation; (5) The remnant of the woman’s seed, or devout Jews 
who keep God’s commandments, but who have not as yet 
reached the conviction, or received the faith to believe in Jesus 
as their Messiah although they have His testimony; (6) The 
Beast, or Antichrist, who ascendeth out of the bottomless pit, 
and who appears in his beastly empire which arises out of the 
sea, or out of the ten kingdoms which are disorganized and in 
a chaotic condition, probably as the result of anarchy. 

Now the Seer introduces the last or seventh (7) character as 
another beast who will play a very important part in connection 
with some of the events of that same period. 


“And I beheld another beast coming up out of the 
earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as 
a.dragon )/(chi1arri), 


This other beast is not to be confused with the Beast who 
ascended out of the bottomless pit and who will be the Head of 
the ten horned and seven headed beastly empire that is to arise 


SATAN’S CHIEF AGENTS IN THE LATTER DAYS 255 


from the mass of disorganized peoples. This other beast came 
up out of the earth which probably means that he also will be 
a lost soul whom Satan will restore to life. He had two horns 
like a lamb, suggestive of the Lamb of God, but he spake as a 
dragon and so betrayed his satanic origin. The horns signify 
both Christian ecclesiastical and civil power which will be 
claimed by this beast, yet he spake like a dragon, thus proving 
conclusively that he will be an impostor, a false Christ, posing 
as the Jewish Messiah Who is Head both of the religious and 
also of the civil institutions or organizations. He is, therefore, 
another chief agent of Satan, and he is probably the man against 
whom Jesus warned His Jewish brethren when He said: 


“Tf any man shall say unto you (during the time of the 
tribulation), Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not. 
For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and 
shall show great signs and wonders; in so much, that if it 
were possible, they shall deceive the very elect (God's 
true Israel). Behold, I have told you before. Where- 
fore, if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the des- 
ert; go not forth; behold, he is in the secret chamber (the 
Bon place of the temple) ; believe it not’ (Matt. 24:23- 
ZO 


Since this other beast will serve Satan’s purpose to deceive 
and to pose as a counterfeit of the true Messiah, the Son of 
God, it will be his work to persuade men, especially the children 
of Abraham, that the Beast is the only true God and that all 
men ought to worship him. 


The Other Beast Exerciseth the Power of the BEAST 


“And he exerciseth all the power of the first Beast be- 
fore him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell 
therein to worship the first Beast, whose deadly wound 
was healed. And he doeth great wonders, so that he 
maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the 
sight of men. And he deceiveth them that dwell on the 
earth by the means of those miracles which he had power 
to do in the sight of the Beast; saying to them that dwell 
on the earth, that they should make an image to the Beast, 
which had the wound by a sword, and did live, and he had 
power to give life unto the image of the Beast, that the 
image of the Beast should both speak, and cause that as 
many as would not worship the image of the Beast should 
be killed” (ch. 13: 12-15). 


256 IS THE KINGDOM AGE AT HAND? 


Even as Jesus claimed to be one with the Father and to 
have the power and authority to do His work, so also to make 
the deception more real the other beast exerciseth the power of 
the Beast before him. By means of the miracles which he 
performs he seeks to compel all men to worship the first Beast 
and to make an image of the Beast; and he had power also to 
give life to this image so that it could speak and cause all who 
would not worship the image of the Beast to be killed. Thus 
he deceived those dwelling on the earth. 

Jesus warned His heafers against idolatry and encouraged 
them to cultivate and to exercise faith in the unseen. But faith 
is the gift of God. All men do not have faith and it is there- 
fore much easier to persuade one to believe in what he can see 
rather than to believe in something which he cannot see. This 
false Messiah, therefore, will encourage idolatry to which as 
fallen beings men are naturally inclined; hence he will have 
very little trouble in persuading men to make an image to the 
Beast and to worship it since it is made to appear that this 
image has life, that it can speak and that it commands all to 
worship it under penalty of death. 

The giving of life and the power of speech to this image are 
probably nothing more nor other than satanic tricks the purpose 
of which is to deceive Satan’s dupes by means of lying wonders. 
There are known today mechanical contrivances that might be 
employed to make an image move about and even to speak. And 
to all intents and purposes this other beast had power to give 
life to the image and to cause it to speak. In the vision granted 
to the Seer it appeared as though such a result were actually 
accomplished. 

There is no question but that Satan has power to perform 
many works that are supernatural and wonderful to behold. He 
can cause demons to enter into and take possession of men 
and the Bible declares that he does this very thing. It would 
be a similar work to release a lost soul from its prison house, 
and to permit it to enter into a dead body which thus, being 
again united to a spirit, would live because it is only the body 
without the spirit that is dead. And since Satan has the power 
of death, or the power to cause the dissolution of soul and 
body, it is not a thing incredible that he also should have the 


SATAN’S CHIEF AGENTS IN THE LATTER DAYS 257 


power to restore that union. But in neither of these cases does 
Satan create life which is a prerogative only within the power 
of God. Hence it is reasonable to conclude that the giving of 
life to the image of the Beast will be a mere trick and delusion 
of Satan rather than a reality. 


The Mark of the Beast, the Name of a Man 


“And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, 
free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or 
in their foreheads: And that no man might buy or sell, 
save he that had the mark, or the name of the Beast, or~ 
the number of his name. Here is wisdom. Let him that 
hath understanding count the number of the Beast: for it 
is the number of a man: and his number is Six hundred 
three score and six” (ch. 13: 16-18). 


Like every false system of religion which has its schemes or 
devices by which its dupes are compelled to pay liberally for 
all such benefits as they are supposed to receive, so here the 
system of religion provided by the other beast permits none 
either to buy or sell unless he has the mark or the name or the 
number of the Beast in his right hand or in his forehead. 

While the fact is not so declared in Scripture, yet it may be 
assumed with little fear of being in error that the privilege or 
license on which depended one’s very life was not to be obtained 
except from those who were duly commissioned to represent 
the system of State established, controlled and enforced religion, 
and except at a goodly price that would have to be paid for 
the same. 

Thus the religion that will be provided in due time for the 
world by this false Christ, or false prophet, will be one of great 
pretensions; also of fraud, imposture, deception, idolatry, rob- 
bery and persecution. There will be the pretension to deity; 
the fraud of the unity, or relation, existing between these two 
beasts ; the imposture of the first Beast who presents himself as 
God and of the other beast who poses as the Christ, or the 
Messiah; the deception of the ignorant multitude by means of 
lying wonders; the requirement of idolatry on pain of death; 
the robbery of all in exchange for the inherent right of all men 
to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, and the persecution 


258 IS THE KINGDOM AGE AT HAND? 


to the death of such as might refuse to buy or sell on such terms 
and under such conditions. 

The supreme head of this iniquitous system will be the Anti- 
christ, the number of whose name is 666, or 616 which is the 
alternative reading in some manuscripts. And the one notorious 
person in history, the value of whose name in Hebrew letters, 
with one slight change, answers to both of these numbers is 
that cruel, bloodthirsty monster of iniquity whose full name in 
Hebrew is Neron Caesar. Thus written, the number of the 
name is 666, while if the “n” be dropped the number of the 
name as then written, Nero Caesar, is 616. Those who may 
desire fuller details and answers to objections are referred to 
Bousset’s Commentary. By many authorities it is believed that 
this Roman emperor, who died by a self-inflicted sword wound 
is the man whose soul will ascend in due time from the bottom- 
less pit, and by satanic power become incarnate in some dead 
body. Thus he will live again here on the earth and as the Anti- 
christ he will be Satan’s chief agent. 


The Identity of the Other Beast 


Regarding the identity of the other beast who comes up out 
of the earth, as did the soul of Samuel at the bidding and 
enchantment of the witch of Endor (1 Sam. 23: 11-14), there 
is nothing conclusive to be learned from anything known to 
have been written in the Scriptures. However, in the Bible 
(1) there are only two men of whom each is definitely called 
“the son of perdition.”’ The one person is the Antichrist (2 
Thess. 2:3), while the other person is Judas Iscariot (John 
17:12). And as Jesus explained, Judas was lost that the Scrip- 
tures might be fulfilled (John 13:18; Ps. 41:9). This declara- 
tion may include also Scripture that had not yet been written 
as well as Scripture that had been written at that time; (2) 
Before Judas went to make his bargain with the chief priests, 
which led to his betrayal of Jesus for thirty pieces of silver, it 
is revealed that Satan entered into him (Lk. 23:3). This signi- 
fies more than that he was tempted of Satan; it means that at 
that very time the Devil took possession of Judas Iscariot. 
Satan desired to get Peter, but failed because the Master had 
prayed for him (Lk. 22:31); he did get Judas Iscariot; (3) 


SATAN’S CHIEF AGENTS IN THE LATTER DAYS 259 


The one man whom Jesus definitely called a devil, or Satan 
(diabolos, usually translated “Satan”), was Judas Iscariot 
(John 6: 70-71); (4) He also is declared to have been a thief, 
and his readiness to hypocritically betray his friend with a kiss 
for thirty pieces of silver proves that he was given over to 
covetousness which is idolatry (John 12:16; Eph. 5:5); (5) 
Of a man capable of such an infamous deed as that of which 
Judas was guilty Jesus said, It had been good for that man if 
he had never been born (Matt. 26:24); (6) On his death, 
which was also self-inflicted, it was said of Judas, He went to 
his own place (Acts I: 28), a statement made of no other 
person, and one that at least suggests that the Devil had made 
special provision to care for the disembodied soul of Judas 
until such time as he planned to make further use of him, as a 
false Christ and a false prophet in connection with the work 
of the Antichrist. 

But in any event there 1s no man known to history whose 
character, spirit and deeds, and whose relation to Jesus Christ 
would make him the superior of Judas Iscariot for the role of 
the false prophet, who at the end of this age Satan will bring up 
out of the earth to play the part of the Jewish Messiah, and to 
head a system of blasphemous, deceitful, hypocritical, idolatrous. 
religion, given over to the practice of covetousness and to the 
persecution of those who worship the only living and true 
God. It is, therefore, not beyond the realm of reasonable 
probability that the other beast who comes up out of the earth 
will be none other than Judas Iscariot. 

Further, in the then apostate church of Christendom, the 
church of “that woman Jezebel” that the glorified Son of Man 
declared was the synagogue of Satan, the false prophet will 
find already established a system of deceitful and idolatrous 
religion, with a hierarchy fully trained to the practice of fraud, 
pretended miracles, covetousness, extortion and the persecution 
to the limit of its power of all those who oppose its tenets, that 
will exactly suit his satanic purpose, and into which system the 
two horns of this beast, the assumption of both ecclesiastical 
and civil power, will qualify him to fill the position of the 
Chief Pontiff. 


CHAPTER XXIII 
THE GENTILE WORLD EMPIRE 


The Victors and the Vanqushed 


In the former vision, the chief characters, each of whom will 
have a part in deciding the world’s destiny in connection with 
the times of the Gentiles, were presented by the Seer. And 
now in the next succeeding vision there is revealed unto him 
that the judgments, consisting of the seven last plagues that are 
about to be poured out upon the Gentiles, will be sent forth 
unto victory. And four victors, four being the number of the 
earth complete, are set forth: (1) The glorified Son of Man; 
(2) The True Church as taken out from among the Gentiles; 
(3) The Jewish martyrs of the great tribulation; (4) The 
innumerable multitude of the redeemed from all Gentile na- 
tions who are saved out of the tribulation. 

On the other hand, the three organizations or systems, three 
being the number of a divine work or of the Trinity, that are 
completely overthrown and that perish from the earth as the 
result of the tribulation judgments are revealed, (1) The 
blasphemous and idolatrous religious system of the false 
prophet, or the other beast; (2) The wicked and oppressive 
commercial system of those having the mark of the Beast; and 
(3) The federated national organization that compose the 
empire of the Beast, or the Antichrist. 

As they are presented in the vision Christ and His true 
Church appear as victors over against the apostate church and 
the commercial systems of the false prophet and the Antichrist. 
Next appear the Jewish martyrs and the redeemed of all nations 
who will come out of the great tribulation. These also are 
revealed as victors over against the overwhelming destruction 
that blots out of existence the empire of the Beast. 

260 


THE GENTILE WORLD EMPIRE 261 


The Lamb on Mount Zion 


“And I looked, and lo, a Lamb stood on Mount Zion, 
and with Him an hundred forty and four thousand, hav- 
ing His Father’s name written in their foreheads” (ch. 
FACT): 


The earliest information found in Scripture concerning what 
later was known as Zion is that it was a city and the chief 
fortress of the Jebusites. It was at first called Jebusi or Jebus 
after the name of its occupiers. After Joab, who was one of 
king David’s mighty men, had scaled the rocky side of the 
fortress and gained possession of the citadel the place was 
called the city of David and it is frequently in the Bible re- 
ferred to by that name. By the Hebrews the city was also 
called Zion or Sion, meaning “a fortress” and it was the chief 
defense of the city of Jerusalem. It is supposed to have occu- 
pied the southwest hill of Jerusalem although the exact site has 
not been definitely determined. It was in this city that the 
tabernacle and the ark of the covenant of the Lord were located 
until after Solomon had completed the building of the temple in 
Jerusalem, and then both the tabernacle of the congregation and 
also the ark of the covenant of the Lord were transferred to 
the place which Solomon had provided for them (1 Kings 8: 4). 

But while Zion was ultimately incorporated with the city of 
Jerusalem, which was the capital of the nation, it never lost its 
identity. The psalms of king David had made the place memor- 
able as the place that Jehovah had chosen and desired for His 
habitation, the place where He would dwell for ever (an age) 
(Ps. 132: 13-18), and as the holy hill on which God would set 
His King, the Messiah (Ps. 2: 6-12; Isa. 24:23). Hence the 
prophets mentioned this place rather than Jerusalem as the city 
of the Lord, The Zion of the Holy One of Israel (Isa. 60: 14). 
It was also to Mount Zion that the Redeemer was to come, and 
from that place the light and glory of the Lord were to rise 
upon that nation at a time when darkness should cover the 
earth and gross darkness the people (Isa. 59: 20; 60: 1-3). 

Here then in vision the Seer beheld a Lamb, the Jewish 
Messiah, or God’s Anointed King, and He stood on Mount 
Zion signifying that He had taken possession of the Mount in 


262 IS THE KINGDOM AGE AT HAND? 


anticipation of the setting up of His Kingdom on the earth. 
Thus after the judgments were sent forth unto victory Jesus 
Christ is revealed as the mighty Conqueror and the chief Victor. 


The Hundred Forty and Four Thousand With the Lamb 

As in the case of the hundred forty and four thousand sealed 
ones out of all the twelve tribes of Israel, so here a definite 
number is employed to indicate an indefinite multitude. In 
each case the number used is the square of twelve which signi- 
fies completion. Both groups, therefore, are complete and no 
more or other persons are to be added to their number. 

But the groups are entirely distinct and differ as follows: 
(1) The former group was selected out of the twelve tribes of 
Israel; (2) they have been sealed merely on their foreheads 
which signifies that they are known to God (2 Tim. 2: 19) ; but 
(3) they remain on the earth as witnesses for Christ during 
the tribulation, and (4) they were sealed unto the day of their 
redemption (Eph. 4: 30). 

On the other hand, the group appearing in this vision evi- 
dently represents the True Church, the Bride of the Lamb. 
(1) They are those who were taken out for Christ’s name from 
the Gentiles (Acts 15:14); (2) they have His Father’s name 
written in their foreheads which signifies that they have been 
made partakers of the divine nature in fulfilment of one of the 
exceeding great and precious promises,—a promise which all 
the redeemed might realize provided they met the condition, 
namely: “escape the corruption that is in the world through 
lust” (2 Pet. 1:4); (3) they, therefore, are not only known 
unto God, but they are already His redeemed ones, and (4) they 
are with the Lamb on Mount Zion. 

The city of Jerusalem was built on four hills of which one 
was Mount Zion. There is also the Jerusalem that is above 
(Gal. 4:26), of which the earthly city is probably but the 
pattern even as the temple and practically all things connected 
therewith were only patterns of things in the heavens (Heb. 
9:23). There is also a Mount Zion of the heavenly Jerusalem 
(Heb. 12:22), but this is not to be understood as “the Zion 
that is above’ on which the Lamb was seen standing with His 
redeemed. The context requires that this should be the earthly 


THE GENTILE WORLD EMPIRE 263 


Zion; for, as already explained, all things connected with this 
particular vision were on the earth, or associated with the earth. 
It would be difficult in this connection to see any significance 
attaching to Christ and His redeemed appearing on Mount Zion 
in heaven, but as already explained the fact that He stood on 
the earthly Mount Zion has a meaning plain and understandable 
because it signifies the formal taking possession of the same. 


The Angel Choir and Song Without Words 

“And I heard a voice from heaven as the voice of many 
waters, and as the voice of a great thunder: and I heard 
the voice of harpers harping with their harps. And they 
sung as it were a new song before the throne, and before 
the four living creatures, and the elders: and no man could 
learn that song but the hundred and forty and four thou- 
sand, which were redeemed from the earth” (ch. 14:2, 3). 


This was the angelic choir and the music both of the song 
and of the harps was so perfectly blended and harmonious that 
it seemed to come from but one voice; but it was a mighty voice 
as of many waters and as a great thunder. The words of the 
mew song which was sung by this heavenly choir are not 
revealed, but the fact that no one on earth could learn that song 
other than the hundred and forty four thousand who were re- 
deemed from the earth and who were with the Lamb is de- 
clared: They could learn it and thus both earth and heaven 
could unite in singing it. 

And that song probably had some reference to the event of 
the Lamb standing with His redeemed on Mount Zion,—an 
event that fulfils the prophetic picture which describes the same 
place and event: 

“How beautiful upon the mountain are the feet of Him 
that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that 
bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation, 
that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth! Thy watchmen 
shall lift up the voice; with the voice together shall they 
sing: for they shall see eye to eye, when the Lord shall 
bring again Zion. Break forth into joy, sing together, ye 
waste places of Jerusalem: for the Lord hath comforted 
His people, He hath redeemed Jerusalem. The Lord hath 
made bare His holy arm in the sight of all the nations; 


and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our 
God” (Isa. 52:6-10). 


264 IS THE KINGDOM AGE AT HAND? 


On that occasion of joy and rejoicing, both on earth and in 
heaven, the redeemed with the Lamb on Mount Zion will havea 
part for they are the True Church, the Bride of the Lamb. 


“These are they which were not defiled with women; 
for they are virgins. These are they who follow the 
Lamb whithersoever He goeth. These were redeemed 
from among men, being the first fruits unto God and to 
the Lamb. And in their mouth was found no guile: for 
they a without fault before the throne of God” (ch. 
14:4, 5). i 


The fact is thus revealed that the Bride, the Lamb’s Wife, 
has made herself ready, and the announcement will be heard 
in due time that the marriage of the Lamb has been con- 
summated (Rev. 19: 7-9). 


The Last Gracious Warning and Invitation 


“And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, 
having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that 
dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and 
tongue, and people, saying with a loud voice, Fear God, 
and give glory to him; for the hour of His judgment is 
come: and worship Him that made heaven, and earth, and 
the sea, and the fountains of waters” (ch. 14:6, 7). 


This is a gracious warning of the coming judgment which 
immediately precedes the great tribulation. And as will ap- 
pear later the judgment occurs during the first forty two months 
of the last seven years of the times of the Gentiles and is 
mercifully intended to teach the inhabitants of the world 
righteousness. On the other hand the tribulation occurs dur- 
ing the last forty two months of the same seven years, and its 
purpose is to punish justly all who continue impenitently to 
rebel against divine authority and to crush out all rebellion. 
Thus the Kingdom age will be brought in and the way will 
be prepared for the reign of the Prince of Peace. Preceding 
the judgment, therefore, a gracious invitation 1s given to 
those who have neglected all past opportunities to repent of 
their sins and to worship the only living and true God who 
alone can save them. 

Thus before the bowls of wrath are poured out upon the 


THE GENTILE WORLD EMPIRE 265 


earth, and before the tribulation, which will end with the great 
and terrible day of the Lord begins, the ever (age) lasting 
gospel, which is the power of God unto salvation to every 
one that believeth, will continue to be proclaimed in the ears 
of earth dwellers, in spite of all that Antichrist and the false 
prophet and those who have received the mark of the Beast 
and who worship his image can do to prevent it. 

And since conditions then on the earth are such that no 
human agency will avail to reach all that dwell on the earth, 
a heavenly messenger is sent forth to give a final miraculous 
warning of coming judgment, and a gracious invitation, that 
should convince all men, if that were possible, that God is not 
willing that any should perish, but that all should come to 
repentance. Jesus is able to save unto the uttermost all who 
will come unto God by Him, and it is only because of those 
who will not come that there are any who shall perish. 


The First Victim of the Judgment: Babylon in MYSTERY 


“And there followed another angel, saying, Babylon is 
fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all na- 
tions drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication” 
(ch. 14:8). 

In later visions there are two Babylons described: the one, 
MYSTERY, BABYLON PDR GREAT THE MOTHER 
CEI ARILOLS PANDA BOMINATIONS (OR 7) THE 
EARTH: the other, Babylon, the Capital city of the Anti- 
christ, and the great commercial center of his beastly empire. 
MYSTERY BABYLON, with its system of idolatrous wor- 
ship, will have its center in the city of Rome; Commercial 
Babylon, the Capital city of the Beast’s empire, will be the 
ancient city of that same name which is to be rebuilt by the 
Antichrist (Isa. 23:13), who is, therefore, spoken of by the 
prophets as “The Assyrian” (Isa. 10:5, 24; 14:25; 30, 31; 
31:8; Mic. 5:5, 6). Thus the times of the Gentiles will end 
where they began,—in Babylon. 

Evidently it is the fall of MYSTERY BABYLON, the 
Mother of harlots, which made all nations drink of the wine 
of the wrath of her fornication, that the angel announces as 
the first victim that will be destroyed in the day of judgment, 


266 IS THE KINGDOM AGE AT HAND? 


or during the last seven years of Gentile world power. The 
proclamation, “Babylon is fallen,’ is an example of the use 
of the prophetic present which so frequently occurs in 
prophecy, and that considers as already accomplished what- 
soever Almighty God has purposed and promised to perform 
CPs? OF) 1 youn Sil 5)). 


The Second Victim of the Judgment: Babylon, the Capital of 

the Beast’s Empire 

“And the third angel followed them, saying with a 
loud voice, If any man worship the Beast and his im- 
age, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, 
the same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, 
which is poured out without mixture into the cup of His 
indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brim- 
stone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the pres- 
ence of the Lamb: and the smoke of their torment ascend- 
eth up for the ages of the ages: and they have no rest 
day nor night, who worship the Beast and his image, 
and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name. Here is 
the patience of the saints: here are they who keep the 
commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus” (ch. 


14:9-I2). 


This has reference to Commercial Babylon, and here due 
warning is given to the followers of Antichrist who have re- 
ceived his mark, or the condition which must be accepted 
either to buy or sell. As worshipers of the Beast and of his 
image they are allowed to get gain, but as a result they sub- 
ject themselves to the wrath of God which shall be poured 
out without mixture. God will deal with them justly, but 
without any mercy to limit and restrain the exercise of 
justice. In connection with the visitation of judgments upon 
israel, justice was tempered with divine mercy, but this shall 
not be when God deals with Gentiles, who for the love of 
gain have received the mark of the Beast. 

Further, all such shall be tormented with fire and brimstone 
for the ages without having rest day or night. A twofold 
punishment is here declared to be awaiting these beastly 
marked merchants: (1) They will suffer the total loss of the 
coveted possessions in which they trusted when the great 


THE GENTILE WORLD EMPIRE 267 


commercial city is destroyed by divine judgments; and 
(2) They will lose their souls which they have bartered away 
in exchange for the material gains of earth. The torment 
“with fire and brimstone” is explained to signify “the second 
death” (Rev. 20:14; 21:8), or banishment from the presence 
of God to abide under His wrath. 

Such will be the doom of the Beast worshipers and of 
those who deceive themselves with the thought that the Anti- 
christ is too great and mighty ever to be overthrown. They 
have confidently asked, “Who is like unto the Beast? Who is 
able to make war with him?’ And now they will suffer the 
curse of the man “that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his 
arm, and whose heart departeth from the Lord” (Jer. 17:5). 
“The righteous also shall see, and fear, and shall laugh at him: 
Lo, this is the man that made not God his strength; but trusted 
in the abundance of his riches, and strengthened himself in 
his wickedness (Ps. 52:6, 7). 

As there will be great multitudes of both Jews and Gentiles 
at that time who have learned righteousness from the divine 
judgments sent upon the earth, and who, therefore, refusing 
to accept the conditions, will be denied the privilege either to 
buy or sell, the suffering of such will be great and vast multi- 
tudes will probably die from starvation. ‘Thus will be tried the 
patience of the saints. It will be a time of testing,—-a time 
that will try men’s souls. But there are those, an innumerable 
multitude, who will come off as conquerers, and of such it is 
said, Here are they that keep the commandments of God (the 
Israelites), and the faith of Jesus (the Gentiles who will be 
converted and come out of the great tribulation). 


The Blessed Dead Who Die in the Lord from Henceforth 


Thus far two victors, Christ and the True Church, and two 
yictims of the day of judgment, the idolatrous system of wor- 
ship encouraged by the false prophet, and the empire of the 
Beast, have appeared in the vision. Two more victors remain 
to be considered; and first the martyrs of that period: 

“And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, 
Write, Blessed are the dead who died in the Lord from 
henceforth; Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from 
their labors; and their works do follow them” (ch. 14:13). 


268 IS THE KINGDOM AGE AT HAND? 


This is the second time in this connection that the Seer has 
received a revelation given to him directly by “a voice from 
heaven.” The former revelation concerned the glorified re- 
deemed who “follow the Lamb whithersoever He goeth,”’ 
(vs. 2-5). Here, the revelation concerns the blessed dead. 
It is evidently intended to encourage all to resist even unto 
death the iniquitous demands of the Beast and of his image; 
also to comfort those who during that period of the world’s 
history will be required to_lay down their lives if they keep 
the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus. ‘From 
henceforth,” or from that time, all who die in the Lord are 
blessed. Several reasons are given in Scripture for the bless- 
edness of those who die at that time in the Lord: (1) They 
are taken away from the evil to come (Isa. 57:1, 2); (2) They 
rest from their labor,—labor that will be most difficult to per- 
form under the persecuting terrors of the Antichrist, and that 
would be not only unappreciated by many for whom the service 
was rendered but also apparently of no avail, and therefore 
useless. Nevertheless, while they live they must continue to 
labor as required to do by the commandments of God and the 
faith of Jesus; (3) Their labor would not be in vain in the 
Lord because their works do follow them, or follow with them, 
and will serve as the basis of their reward of glory which at 
that time will not long be delayed; (4) Such will be confirmed 
in holiness and placed beyond the possibility of yielding to 
temptation: hence they shall not be hurt of the second death 
(Rev. 20:6); and (5) It is assured to all such that they shall 
reign with Christ. 


The Harvest of the Earth 


“And I looked, and behold a white cloud, and upon the 
cloud One sat like unto the Son of Man, having on His 
head a golden crown, and in His hand a sharp sickle. 
And another angel came out of the temple, crying with 
a loud voice to Him that sat on the cloud, Thrust in Thy 
sickle, and reap: for the time is come for Thee to reap; 
for the harvest of the earth is ripe. And he that sat on 
the cloud thrust in His sickle on the earth; and the earth 
was reaped” (ch. 14:14-16). 


THE GENTILE WORLD EMPIRE 269 


The One seen sitting upon the cloud is the glorified Christ 
Who still dwells in the body prepared for Him and that makes 
Him appear like unto the son of man. The cloud also is His 
chariot upon which He rides gloriously and triumphantly. It 
is further a white cloud rather than one threatening of storms 
and judgments; hence it signifies that at that time, obedient 
to the voice of the angel out of the temple, Jesus is going 
forth, not on a mission of war, but rather on a mission of 
peace. True in His hand is a sharp sickle, but it is not to 
be forgotten that 


“Peace hath her victories, 
Not less renowned than war,” 


and it is the victory of the gospel of the Prince of Peace that 
Jesus is about to gather. Who is more peaceful then the 
reaper in the harvest field even though he carries in his hand 
the sharp sickle? And to His disciples Jesus said: 


“Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are 
white already to harvest. And he that reapeth, receiveth 
wages, and gathered fruit unto eternal life: that he that 
soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice together” (John 


4:35, 36). 


When those words were first spoken there were the white 
fields awaiting the reaper, and now at the end of the age 
judgments have been sent forth unto victory (Matt. 12:20), 
and again the fields are white to harvest, the divine Reaper is 
ready with His sharp sickle, and is seen riding forth to gather 
fruit unto eternal life. According to the word of the angel 
it was the time for Him rather than for any of His servants 
to reap; hence He thrust in His sickle and the earth was 
reaped. 

And what a glorious harvest will then be gathered! Many 
of the redeemed of that period will be slain by the Antichrist 
and by his followers whose hatred of God’s saints, the children 
of Israel, is among their chief characteristics. And in those 
days of persecution there will be many also among the Gentile 
nations who will count not their lives dear unto them, and 
who will swell the ranks of the martyrs of Jesus. And those 
gathered at that harvest will be nothing less nor other than the 


270 IS THE KINGDOM AGE AT HAND? 


great multitude which no man could number, of all nations, 
kindreds, peoples and tongues, which came out of the great 
tribulation, having washed their robes and made them white 
in the blood of the Lamb. 


The Third Victim: the Emptre of the Beast. 


“And another angel came out of the temple which is in 
heaven, he also having a sharp sickle. And another angel 
came out from the altar, who had power over fire; and 
he cried with a loud cry to him that had the sharp 
sickle, saying, Thrust in thy sharp sickle, and gather the 
clusters of the vine of the earth; for her grapes are fully 
ripe’ (ch. 14:17, 18). 


This harvest scene differs in every respect from the former. 
Here the reaper is an angel who is sent forth on his mission. 
by another angel who came out from the altar and who had 
power over fire. The altar speaks to us of sin that requires 
the shedding of blood; the fire of the altar, which consumes 
the victim, is significant of the wrath of a holy God against 
sin; and it was the angel who came out from the altar, and 
who had power over fire, the angel who is Christ Himself,— 
He it was who cried with a loud cry to him that had the 
sharp sickle, saying, Thrust in thy sharp sickle and gather the 
clusters of the vine of the earth, for her grapes are fully ripe. 

Jesus declared that at the time of the harvest, which would 
be the end of the age, He would send forth His angels to 
gather out of His Kingdom all things that offend and them 
which do iniquity; and now at this very time that promise 
is fulfilled. Jesus presents Himself as the True Vine; and the 
prophet, in contrast with the True Vine, accused Judah of 
having turned into the degenerate plant of a strange vine 
(John 15:1; Jer. 2:21). Also in the Song of Moses, we read 
of those who 


“forsook the God who made them, and lightly esteemed 
the Rock of salvation.” 


Of such as these it is declared: 


“Their vine is the vine of Sodom, and of the fields of 
Gomorrah: their grapes are the grapes of gall, their clus- 
ters are bitter: their wine is the poison of dragons, and 


THE GENTILE WORLD EMPIRE 271 


the cruel venom of asps. And they ask: Is not this laid 
up in store with me, and sealed up among my treasures?” 
To which question, God replies: 

“To Me belongeth vengeance and recompence; their 
foot shall slide in due time: for the day of their calamity 
is at hand, and the things that shall come upon them make 
haste ”( Deut. 32:32-43). 


Here then the Seer beholds not the clusters of the True 
Vine as about to be gathered, but the clusters of the vine of 
the earth, the vine of Sodom, and of the fields of Gomorrah. 
Her grapes are fully ripe and the hour to reap has come. 


“And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and 
gathered the vine of the earth, and cast it into the great 
winepress of the wrath of God. And the winepress was 
trodden without the city, and blood came out of the wine- 
press, even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thou- 
sand and six hundred furlongs” (ch. 14:19, 20). 


Since one furlong equals five hundred and eighty two feet, 
there is here pictured a stream of blood more than one hun- 
dred and seventy-six miles in length, if the number of fur- 
longs is literal. They are probably symbolic; one and its 
multiples represent the unity of the Godhead. Six and its 
multiples represent evil, Satan, the Antichrist. One before 
six, therefore, signifies the complete triumph of God over 
Satan. And since the multiple of the number One is ten 
times greater than that of the number six there is signified 
the magnitude of the victory that Christ will gain over Anti- 
christ on the bloody fields of Armageddon. At that time the 
trenches will be filled with dead men and horses that belonged 
to the armies of Antichrist, and that will be slain when the 
Lord Almighty treadeth the winepress of the fierceness of 
the wrath of God in that great and dreadful day of the Lord. 

Such will be the vintage at the end of the age: 


“The Son of Man shall send forth His angels, and they 
shall gather out of His Kingdom all things that offend, 
and them which do iniquity; and shall cast them into a 
furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of 
teeth. Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in 
the Kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let 
him hear” (Matt. 13 :40-43). 


CHAPTER XXIV 


THE JUDGMENT AND THE GREAT 
TRIBULATION, 


The Divine Agents of the Final Judgments 

In the immediately preceding vision, having been given to 
understand what would be the results of the judgment and 
of the tribulation which God was about to visit upon the 
inhabitants of the earth, the Seer next beheld the agents 
through whom the earth was to be plagued. 


“And I saw another sign in heaven, great and mar- 
velous, seven angels having the seven last plagues; for 
in them is filled up the wrath of God” (ch. 15:1). 


Attention has been called to the fact that, connected with 
the opening of the first four seals, the conduct and condition 
of the Gentile world were prophetically set forth for the 
entire period between the ascension of Christ and the end of the 
times of the Gentiles. It was also shown that connected with 
the opening of the last three seals there was revealed God’s 
dealings with Israel and with the house of Jacob again under 
the Abrahamic Covenant. Further, it is understood that this 
period completed the last one of Daniel’s Seventy of Sevens, 
or the last seven years required to complete the Abrahamic 
Covenant, and was also synchronous with the last seven years 
of the times of the Gentiles. At that time God’s dealings with 
Israel will be by means of the merciful trumpet judgments,— 
seven in all. 

It is believed, also, that immediately preceding these seven 
years the true Church will be caught up in the clouds to meet 
the Lord in the air, the Holy Spirit will be withdrawn, the 
visible Church will then become apostate, and on the stage of 
Gentile world history there will appear the Antichrist with 

272 


JUDGMENT AND THE GREAT TRIBULATION 273 


whom many of the Jews, the house of Jacob especially as the 
representatives of the nation, will make a league. This league 
will be broken after the first three and a half years by the 
Antichrist, who for the remaining three and a half years, or 
forty two months, will make war against Israel and besiege 
Jerusalem. All these things are plainly predicted in various 
Scriptures. 

Further, in this prophecy of the Revelation, it is also re- 
vealed that at the beginning of this seven year period, or of 
the last seven years of this present evil age, the trumpet judg- 
ments that will be visited upon Israel will be shared also by 
all earth dwellers both Jews and Gentiles, and the purpose of 
these judgments for the first forty two months is that the 
inhabitants of the world may learn righteousness. The dam- 
age wrought by these judgments is limited to a third part 
so far as it affects the Israelites, or the true Israel of God, 
while all other inhabiters of the world, who are also citizens 
of the empire of the Beast, will suffer double as much as the 
seed of Abraham, or two thirds of the damage. This fact 
is revealed in connection with the destruction of Commercial 
Babylon, the Capital of the Beast’s empire. Thus the bowls 
of wrath that are to be poured out will be visited exclusively 
upon such as belong to the empire of the Beast, and as these 
bowl judgments synchronize with those of the trumpets, the 
Capital city which represents all belonging to the empire of 
the Beast has “doubled unto her double according to her works; 
and the cup (of wrath) which she hath filled is filled to her 
double” (Rev. 18:6). 

One further word of explanation: The first four, both of 
the trumpets and also of the bowls of wrath, constitute “The 
judgment,” or “My” or “Thy judgment,” or “the judgment of 
the wicked,” or “of the transgressor,” to which there is frequent 
reference in the Scriptures. These judgments are sent on the 
earth during the first three and a half of the last seven years 
of this age; while the judgments under the remaining three 
trumpets and bowls of wrath, which follow without any delay, 
are experienced during the last three and a half years, or 
forty two months, and they constitute the great tribulation 
which closes with the day of the Lord. Upon the Gentiles, 


274 IS THE KINGDOM AGE AT HAND? 


therefore, or the empire of the Beast, the judgments begin 
immediately after the opening of the fifth seal, and so there is 
seen the seven angels having the seven last plagues, and in each 
case seven represents the dispensational fulness and com- 
pletion of the divine judgments. 


God Glorified and Worshiped Because of His Judgments 


“And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire: 
and them that had gotten the victory over the Beast, and 
over his image, and over his mark, and over the number 
of his name, stand on the sea of glass, having the harps 
of God. And they sing the song of Moses the servant of 
God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and mar- 
velous are Thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true 
are Thy ways, Thou King of saints. Who shall not fear 
Thee, O Lord, and glorify Thy name? for Thou only 
art holy: for all nations shall come and worship before 
Thee; for Thy judgments are made manifest” (ch. 15: 


2-4). 


These victors have all come out of the great tribulation, hav- 
ing washed their robes and made them white in the blood of 
the Lamb. They stand on the sea of glass mingled with fire 
which signifies that they fully share the righteous wrath and 
holy indignation of God that is about to be poured out. In 
the voice of song they testify to God’s great and marvelous 
works, to His just and true ways; they wonder that any man 
should fail to fear and to glorify God’s name, and in view 
of His holiness and judgments they predict that all nations 
shall come and worship Him. 

Many there are today who refuse to believe the testimony 
of the gospel to the very truth proclaimed in these songs; but 
when God’s judgments are made manifest in the earth, then 
they will believe and unite also with others of the redeemed 
in giving their witness to these same things, and they too will 
magnify God for His judgments. 


The Temple of the Tabernacle of the Testimony in Heaven 


“And after that I looked, and, behold, the temple of 
the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven was opened: and 
the seven angels came out of the temple, having the 


JUDGMENT AND THE GREAT TRIBULATION 275 


seven plagues, clothed in pure and white linen, and hav- 
ing their breasts girded with golden girdles. And one of 
the four living creatures gave unto the seven angels seven 
golden bowls full of the wrath of God, Who liveth for the 
ages of the ages” (ch. 15:5-7). 


The testimony given by God to Israel was the Ten Com- 
mandments written with the finger of God on the two tables 
of stone (Ex. 31:18). This testimony was put in the ark 
upon which was the mercy seat (Ex. 25:16, 21), and kept 
in the Most Holy place which was also called the tabernacle 
of the testimony (Num, 1:50; 10:11). Over this the Levites 
were appointed and no stranger was allowed to draw near under 
penalty of death. Remembering that these things were only 
the pattern of things in the heavens it is necessary to understand 
that what the Seer beheld was the tabernacle or ark of the 
testimony (God’s commandments, or the Moral Law), in the 
Most Holy place in the heavenly temple. The veil no longer 
separated between the temple and the Holy place where the 
tabernacle was kept; for all had been opened when the Lamb 
of God died on the Cross of Calvary. 

And out of this temple in heaven came the angels with the 
last plagues. Their garments were like those worn by Aaron 
and his sons who ministered in the temple (Ex. 39:27). 
However, the girdle worn by Aaron was of linen (Ex. 39:29), 
while these angels wore the golden girdles over the breast as 
did also the glorified Son of Man (Rev. 1:13). This signi- 
fies that they were representatives of the Royal Priesthood 
(1 Pet. 2:9), and of those who had been redeemed from 
among men. They belonged, therefore, to the King, and 
having received from one of the four living creatures the 
bowls of the wrath of God which they were to pour out upon 
the earth it is evident that the redeemed will have a part to 
take in connection with these judgments: 


“Let the saints be joyful in glory; let them sing aloud 
upon their beds. Let the high praises of God be in their 
mouth, and a two-edged sword in their hand; to execute 
vengeance upon the nations, and punishment upon the 

_ people; to bind their kings with chains, and their nobles 
with fetters of iron; to execute upon them the judgment 


276 IS THE KINGDOM AGE AT HAND? 


written: this honor have all the saints. Praise ye the 
Lord” (Ps. 149:5-9). 


The vision of the Seer continues: 


“And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory 
of God, and from His power; and no man was able to 
enter into the temple, till the seven plagues of the seven 
angels were fulfilled” (ch. 15:8). 


From this we must understand that the day of intercession on 
behalf of earth dwellers had past; their cup of iniquity will 
at that time be full to the very brim, and no power can stay 
the arm of justice until after the seven bowls of the wrath of 
God have been poured out (Jer. 15:1). 


Divine Judgments Abroad in the Earth 


“And I heard a great voice out of the temple saying to 
the seven angels, Go your ways, and pour out the bowls 
of the wrath of God upon the earth. And the first went, 
and poured out his bowl upon the earth; and there fell 
a noisome and grievous sore upon the men which had the 
mark of the Beast, and upon them which worshiped his 
image” (ch. 16:1, 2). 


This affliction sent upon the idolaters who had the mark of 
the Beast was probably similar to that of Job when he was 
covered from head to foot with boils or carbuncles (Job 
2:7, 8), and it was like the sixth of the Egyptian plagues 
(Ex. 9:8-11). Keep in mind that these bowl judgments will 
occur simultaneously with the trumpet judgments visited upon 
both Israel and the Gentiles, while only the citizens of the 
Beast’s empire will suffer from the bowl judgments. Thus 
there will be filled up unto them double. 


“And the second angel poured out his bowl upon the 
sea, and it became as the blood of a dead man: and every 
living soul died in the sea” (ch. 16:3). 


Under the trumpets this judgment caused only the third 
part of the sea to become blood, while the empire of the Beast 
suffers the double, or two thirds. Thus the one third plus 
the two thirds completes the judgment and so the whole sea, 


JUDGMENT AND THE GREAT TRIBULATION 277 


and not merely the third part, became as the blood of a dead 
man; also every living soul, rather than the third part, died 
in the sea. The picture here presented is evidently symbolic 
and describes merely the completeness of the judgment, or in 
other words it sets forth that the judgment accomplished all 
that God intended by it, and left nothing undone, to be finished 
at a later time, that God had purposed to perform. 


“And the third angel poured out his bowl upon the 
rivers and fountains of waters; and they became blood” 
(ch. 16:4). 


Again, this is the same as the third trumpet judgment, 
except as to its extent, and for this exception the explanation 
is the same as that given above. However, these first three 
bowl judgments are separated from those that follow by the 
testimony of the angel of the waters. Thus they make a 
group of three judgments to emphasize that they are sent on 
the earth as a divine work, and their purpose is such that 
God is to be praised: 


“And I heard the angel of the waters say, Thou art 
righteous, O Lord, Who art, and wast, and shalt be, be- 
cause Thou hast thus judged. For they have shed the 
blood of saints and prophets, and Thou hast given them 
blood to drink; for they are worthy. And I heard another 
(angel or voice) out of the altar say, Even so, Lord God 
Almighty, true and righteous are Thy judgments” (ch. 
16:5-7). 


Divine justice calls for an exact equivalent: “An eye for an 
eye, and a tooth for a tooth.” Here those who delighted in 
shedding blood will be compelled to drink blood as the blood 
of a dead man in order to quench their thirst. Verily such 
judgments are true and righteous, 


“And the fourth angel poured out his bowl upon the 
sun; and power was given unto him (the angel) to scorch 
men with fire. And men were scorched with great heat, 
and blasphemed the name of God, Who hath power over 
these plagues: and they repented not to give Him glory” 
Ceh1623;;'0). 


278 IS THE KINGDOM AGE AT HAND? 


In the fourth trumpet judgment, the third part of the sun, 
moon and stars was darkened, and for the third part of the 
day and night there was no light from either luminary. This 
also was experienced by the Gentiles, who under this fourth 
bowl judgment were further afflicted since they were scorched 
with fire. This probably will result from great conflagrations 
in different parts of the earth that will burn down buildings 
and lay waste whole cities and villages. Though these ter- 
rible judgments will not bring all men to repentance, yet they 
result in bringing the only living and true God to the mind 
of those who had forgotten Him, or who had denied even 
His existence. Now even though they blasphemed they rec- 
ognized nevertheless the hand of Him Who had power over 
these plagues. 

Four completes the earth number; and with the pouring 
out of the fourth bowl the judgments which were graciously 
designed to bring men to repentance will come to an end. 
Still there will remain those who repent not to give God the 
glory, and they will seal, therefore, their own doom. These 
first four bowls of wrath will bring afflictions upon men as 
individuals rather than as organized, or as representing the 
national organization. Beginning, however, with the pouring 
out of the fifth bowl of wrath the judgment falls upon the 
kingdom of the Beast. Then under the sixth bowl judgment, 
the armies of the Beast are being gathered together on the 
field of Armageddon to the battle of that great day of God 
Almighty. And when the seventh bowl is poured out the 
Capital of the Beast’s empire, Great Babylon, is destroyed. 

With the pouring out of the fifth bowl, therefore, it is be- 
lieved that the great tribulation will begin, and then will be 
fulfilled Daniel’s prophecy as it predicts the smiting of the 
great image of Nebuchadnezzar, or the empire of the Beast, 
in the days when the ten toes, which are explained to represent 
ten kings, make their appearance (Dan. 2:44, 45). 


The Great Tribulation 


“And the fifth angel poured out his bowl upon the seat 
(throne) of the Beast; and his kingdom was full of dark- 
ness; and they gnawed their tongues for pain. And blas- 
phemed the God of heaven because of their pains and 


JUDGMENT AND THE GREAT TRIBULATION 279 


their sores, and repented not of their deeds” (ch. 16:10, 
Il). 


Taken by itself this judgment suggests no explanation what- 
ever for the pain suffered by those in the Beast’s empire that 
caused them to gnaw their very tongues. It corresponds to 
the ninth of the Egyptian plagues when for three days there 
was thick darkness over all the land of Egypt. This caused 
much inconvenience for during that time the Egyptians saw 
not one another, neither rose any from his place for three 
days (Ex. 10:22, 23). But there is not even a hint of physical 
pain and suffering. 

However, when side by side with this fifth judgment 
there is placed the fifth trumpet judgment then the explanation 
is found at once. At that very time, the demon-possessed 
locusts were abroad in the earth whose torment was as the 
torment of a scorpion when it striketh a man. As a result, 
in those days, the men who have not the seal of God in their 
foreheads shall desire to die, and shall seek death which will 
flee from them. Here then is the explanation for the terrible 
pain and for the physical torture that caused men to gnaw 
their tongues and to blaspheme the God of heaven. At that 
very time those in the kingdom of the Beast will be having 
their experience with the locusts and the darkness,—the over- 
whelming darkness in the kingdom of the Beast, is only an 
additional experience that will fill their cup to the double. 

Had it been possible for the Seer to record that those who 
suffered these judgments repented of their sins, and also con- 
fessed and forsook them, then the last chapter of Gentile world 
empire would have had a very different ending from what is 
recorded in the prophecy of this book; for 


“The Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy” (Jas. 
5:11). “Though He cause grief, yet will He have com- 
passion according to the multitude of His mercies. For 
He doth not afflict willingly nor grieve the children of 
men” (Lam. 3:32, 33). But, on the other hand: 

“He that being often reproved hardeneth his neck shall 
suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy” (Prov. 
29:1). 


280 IS THE KINGDOM AGE AT HAND? 


These subjects of the empire of the Beast will not repent of 
their deeds; rather they will blaspheme God and doom them- 
selves to utter destruction that will fall upon them in the great 
day of God’s wrath. 


“And the sixth angel poured out his bowl upon the 
great river Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried 
up, that the way of the kings of the east might be pre- 
pared” (ch. 16:12). 


Here again is the account of further judgments set off by 
themselves in a group of three to indicate a divine work. In 
the first group of three, the judgments came from natural 
causes; men were afflicted and suffered because of disease, or 
because of the pollution of the waters. In the second group 
of three, the judgments were all of a supernatural character ; 
men were scorched with great heat, the kingdom of the Beast 
was full of darkness, and the water of the great river Euphra- 
tes was dried up to prepare the way of the kings of the 
east. These kings with their armies were the same peoples 
probably that were marshalled for war as recorded under the 
sixth trumpet judgment. God’s judgment had dried up the 
river; and as of old when the Israelites were permitted to 
march through the Red Sea on dry land so the way of these 
kings was prepared. 

A parenthetical vision is then recorded which relates an 
experience of these kings after they had been induced by the 
four angels (ch. 9:13-15), to take the way, evidently at the 
head of their armies, to go forth to battle: 


“And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out 
of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the 
Beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. For 
they are the spirits of demons, working miracles, which 
go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole 
world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of 
God Almighty” (ch. 6:13, 14). 


The sources from which these unclean spirits come, namely, 
out of the mouth of the dragon, of the Beast and of the false 
prophet, make their character as unclean doubly evident. They 
were the spirit of demons, and their mission was to gather 


JUDGMENT AND THE GREAT TRIBULATION 281 


the kings of earth to fight against God. Among all the demons 
the three most likely to be selected to accomplish that mission 
will be the spirits of lying, lawlessness and covetousness. The 
dragon was a liar from the beginning, and the spirit out of 
his mouth, or sent forth at his command, will be most cer- 
tainly a lying spirit. The Beast, or Antichrist, is described 
as “the lawless one,’ and the spirit out of his mouth will 
naturally be a lawless spirit. Then also like Balaam, every 
false prophet loves the wages of unrighteousness; he is cov- 
etous of reward which becomes his idol, and hence covetousness 
is idolatry (Col. 3:5). We would conclude, therefore, that 
at the command of the false prophet there will go forth a 
covetous spirit. 

This trinity of frog-like demons, working miracles, will go 
forth, embodied in men, as ambassadors of the Antichrist, on 
their appointed mission at Satan’s instigation, but with God’s 
permission, and they will succeed. 


“God shall send the nations a strong delusion, that they 
should believe a lie, that they all might be damned who 
believe not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteous- 
nessa (2. Uhesi2 iT 12), 


Hence the armies of the nations will be gathered to Armaged- 
don, and on that battlefield the glorified Son of Man will face 
the Beast and his, armies set in battle formation against Him 
Who is King of kings and Lord of lords. 

Concerning the outcome Jesus is not at all apprehensive, and 
He Himself gives the warning: 


“Behold, I come as a thief (suddenly, unexpectedly), 
Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, 
lest he walk naked, and they see his shame. And He 
(Christ) gathered them together into a place called in 
the Hebrew tongue ARMAGEDDON?” (ch. 16:15, 16). 


Armageddon means the mount of slaughter and the place 
is believed by many authorities to be identical with Megiddo 
which means the place of troops. It is part of the hill country 
which came into possession of Manasseh when the land was 
divided among the twelve tribes (Josh. 17:11). To this 


282 IS THE KINGDOM AGE AT HAND? 


place the unclean spirits are said to have gathered the kings 
of the whole world to battle (v. 14), while v. 16 declares 
that Christ gathered the nations for this same battle. This 
is merely another example of God accepting responsibility for 
evil that He could have prevented, but instead He permitted 
it to be accomplished as a means to the carrying out of His 
own plans. It. was thus God hardened the heart of Pharaoh 
by leaving that proud monarch free and unhindered to harden 
his own heart. In each case the result was accomplished only 
because of the divine permission without which the devil’s 
plans could never succeed; and God never fails to accept 
responsibility for all that He permits. The trinity of frog- 
like demons deceived the nations, therefore, because God per- 
mitted them to succeed in their evil doings, it is said also that 
God gathered the nations to Armageddon; for it was His 
revealed purpose to slay them there and thus make possible 
the setting up of His Kingdom on the earth. 


The Final Judgments of the Great Tribulation 


When the seventh seal was opened, signifying the end of 
the dispensation, it is merely said, “There was silence in 
heaven about the space of half an hour.” When the seventh 
trumpet was sounded the great voices in heaven proclaimed, 
The kingdoms of this world are become the Kingdom of our 
Lord and of His Anointed One, the True Church... and 
then added: There were lightnings, thunderings, an earth- 
quake and great hail. Now there is only left to consider the 
remaining one of the seven bowls of divine wrath which fol- 
lowed the opening of the seventh seal, and which occurred 
simultaneously with the sounding of the seventh trumpet. 

The first group of three bowl judgments shows the results 
accomplished by means of natural agencies that God employed 
to fulfil the good pleasure of His will, namely, the desire that 
men should learn righteousness. The second group of three 
bowl judgments shows the results accomplished by means of 
supernatural agencies to enforce, if possible, submission to 
God’s holy and righteous will upon even the hardened and 
impenitent who otherwise would be destroyed, and that without 
remedy. 


JUDGMENT AND THE GREAT TRIBULATION 283 


The last bowl of divine wrath is now to be outpoured; it 
contains the final judgments of the great tribulation, and 
immediately after these judgments Christ will return and the 
Kingdom Age will begin. Behind this last one bowl judgment, 
one being the number of the Trinity in unity, there is the 
power of the godhead working in unison, and the final result 
will be accomplished by means both of natural and of super- 
natural agencies. 


“And the seventh angel poured out his bowl into the 
air; and there came a great voice out of the temple of 
heaven, from the throne, saying, it is done” (ch. 16:17), 


The other bowls will be poured out upon the land and the 
waters; this bowl is poured out into the air. Thus all the 
elements that have been polluted because of their contact with 
sin are to be purified with the fires of divine judgments. 


“And there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings; 
and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since 
men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and 
SOoreat gy Ch 1On is )- 


Referring to this very time and occasion the prophet de- 
clared concerning Ariel a name that means “the lion of God”: 


“Woe to Ariel, to Ariel, the city where David dwelt 
(Mount Zion)! Add ye year to year; let them kill sacri- 
fices (as the nation of Israel will again do when they re- 
turn to their own land in their unbelief). Yet I will 
distress Ariel, and there shall be heaviness and sorrow; 
and it shall be unto Me as Ariel. ... Thou shalt be 
visited of the Lord of hosts with thunder and with earth- 
quake, and great noise, with storm and tempest, and the 
flame of devouring fire. And the multitude of all the 
nations that fight against Ariel, even all that fight against 
her and her munition, and that distress her, shall be as a 
dream of a night. It shall even be as when a hungry man 
dreameth, and, behold, he eateth; but he awaketh, and his 
soul is empty; or as when a thirsty man dreameth, and, 
behold, he drinketh; but he awaketh, and, behold, he is 
faint, and his soul hath appetite; so shall the multitude 
of all the nations be, that fight against Zion” (Isa. 29: 
1-8). 


284 IS THE KINGDOM AGE AT HAND? 


Of the physical results of that great earthquake it is declared 
by another prophet: 


“The mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof 
toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be 
a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove 
toward the north, and half of it toward the south. And 
ye shall flee to the valley of the mountains; for the val- 
ley of the mountains shall reach unto Azal; yea, ye shall 
flee, like as ye fled from before the earthquake in the 
days of Uzziah king of Judah: and the Lord my God shall 
come, and all the saints with Thee” (Zech. 14:4, 5). 


To this same event the Seer refers, and he declares: 


“And the great city (Jerusalem) was divided into three 
parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and great Baby- 
lon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her 
the cup of the wine of the fierceness of His wrath. And 
every island fled away, and the mountains were not 
found” (ch. 16:19, 20). 


Thirty days after the earthquake, as will be shown later, 
there followed a supernatural hail storm: 


“And there fell upon men a great hail out of heaven, 
every stone about the weight of a talent; and men blas- 
phemed God because of the plague of the hail; for the 
plague thereof was exceeding great” (ch. 16:21). 


The effect of this storm was that men merely hardened their 
hearts as did the Egyptians when they experienced a like judg- 
ment, the seventh that was sent upon that nation (Ex. 9: 18-20). 
It will be noted that many of these last plagues that fill up 
the wrath of God were the same as those visited upon the 
land of Egypt when Israel was finally delivered from the 
bondage of Pharaoh (Ex. 7:14). In that day the hail was 
mingled with fire (lightning) and smote throughout all the 
land of Egypt all that was in the field, and break every tree 
(Ex. 9:25). The result will probably be the same and even 
more extensive and terrible at the end of the tribulation. 

It is not at all improbable that there was reference to this 
very hail storm to be sent upon the earth on this occasion 
when out of the whirlwind Jehovah asked the holy man of Uz: 


JUDGMENT AND THE GREAT TRIBULATION 285 


“Hast thou entered into the treasures of the snow? or 
hast thou seen the treasures of the hail, which I have re- 
served against the time of trouble, against the day of 
battle and war” (Job 38:22, 23)? 


These terrible plagues will only demonstrate that those who 
then will be dwellers on the earth as the willing subjects of 
the Antichrist will be incorrigible and wilful sinners. Hence, 
not even divine judgments can turn them from their evil ways. 
They will not repent of their deeds, but rather they blas- 
phemed because of the suffering which their own wickedness 
had brought upon themselves, and thus they doom themselves 
to utter destruction. 

All the plagues represented by the seven bowls of the wrath 
of God are understood to occur during the last seven years of 
this present evil age, and the last three of these bowl judg- 
ments will, therefore, probably occur during the latter half 
of these years. They seem to begin at the time mentioned by 
Daniel as the “midst of the week,” and so they will continue 
during the forty-two months of the tribulation that will be 
visited directly upon the empire of the Beast. Thus the great 
image of Gentile world power, as seen by Nebuchadnezzar in 
his dream that Daniel interpreted, will be smitten and become 
as chaff of the summer threshingfloors which the wind (judg- 
ment) carried away. The way will then be prepared for the 
return of Christ in His glory, to sit upon the throne of His 
glory, and for the setting up of God’s Kingdom here on the 
earth. 


CHAPTER XXV 
THE OVERTHROW OF MYSTERY, BABYLON 


The Woman on a Scarlet Colored Beast 


“And there came one of the seven angels which had the 
seven bowls, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come 
hither; I will show unto thee the judgment of the great 
whore that sitteth upon many waters: with whom the 
kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the in- 
habitants of the earth have been made drunk with the 
wine of her fornication. So he carried me away in the 
spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a 
scarlet colored beast, full of names of blasphemy, having 
seven heads and ten horns” (ch. 17: 1-3). 


In the Scripture both apostacy from God and also the prac- 
tice by heathen nations of false and idolatrous systems of 
religion are mentioned constantly as spiritual unchastity. Apos- 
tacy from the true God is described as adultery (Eze. 23: 4, 
5, 30, 37-43; Jer. 9:1, 2; Hos. 3:1-5), while the worship of 
false gods by heathen is specially spoken of as fornication or 
harlotry, as for example Tyre (Isa. 23:15-17) and Nineveh 
(Nah. 3:4; 2 Kings 9:22). But those guilty of either are 
charged with whoredom and represented as a lewd woman. 

The unchaste woman whose judgment the Seer beholds and 
records in this vision is not presented as an adultress, but 
rather she is charged with fornication. Hence it cannot be 
apostate Christianity that is here represented, but rather it is 
some system of utterly false and idolatrous religion such as 
was instituted by “that woman Jezebel” within the Visible 
Church, and which caused the death of that institution as a 
Church of God so that it became “the synagogue of Satan.” 

As the many waters upon which this woman sat are ex- 
plained (v. 15) to be peoples, multitudes, nations and tongues, 
It is evident that the false religious system represented by 

286 


THE OVERTHROW OF MYSTERY, BABYLON 287 


this lewd woman is widely diffused; it is no mere national 
affair, but rather it is international, and all these nations are 
in absolute subjection to this system of false religion; for 
the great whore sitteth upon them; thus keeping them down 
and holding them in subjection to her will and authority. 

One of the seven angels, having the last bowls of wrath, 
proposed to show John the judgment that would overtake 
this woman. The Seer, therefore, was carried away, not bodily, 
but in the spirit into the wilderness, figurative of a place of 
absolute spiritual barrenness and wholly destitute of every 
thing good and worth while, and there he saw this woman on 
a scarlet colored beast. This was the same ten horned beast 
that Daniel saw in the latter end of Gentile world domination, 
after the ten toes on the image of Nebuchadnezzar had become 
ten kings. It is also the same beast that John saw rise up out 
of the sea to become the empire of the Antichrist. The ear 
marks are too well defined to mistake the identity of this 
beast which certainly does not represent the pagan Roman 
empire in the days of the Seer. Rather, it represents the 
beastly empire of the Antichrist which has not yet appeared 
on the stage of the world history, and which will be the last 
form of Gentile world power to be on this earth before the 
end of this present age. The woman who held all peoples 
subject to her domination sat also upon the Beast, indicating 
her control of the civil government. 


“And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet 
color, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, 
having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and 
filthiness of her fornication: and upon her forehead was 
a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE 
MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH. 
And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the 
saints (Jews), and with the blood of the martyrs of 
Jesus (Christians) ; and when I saw her I wondered with 
great wonder” (ch. 17: 4-6). 


The purple is the royal color of Messiah (Mk. 15:20), 
which the woman had assumed. The garments of purple and 
scarlet, and the expensive and beautiful jewels and orna- 
ments suggest not only a person of great dignity and of high 


288 IS THE KINGDOM AGE AT HAND? 


rank, but also and especially a royal personage of Jewish lin- 
eage who should be a worthy example to her subjects of all 
that was good, just and beautiful in character and conduct. 
But while the woman’s dress and adornments indicated Jewish 
royalty, nevertheless the cup of abominations in her hand and 
the inscription on her headdress associated her with the Gen- 
tile world; and further, she was drunken with the blood of 
both Jews and Christians whom she had persecuted unto the 
death. 

Here indeed was mystery: This woman who posed as the 
representative both of the true Israel of God, and also of the 
Gentile world, which at that time will have its Capital at Baby- 
lon; who was arrayed as a beautiful queen, but at the same time 
shamelessly advertised herself as a harlot, and who had perse- 
cuted all worshipers of the true God until she appeared 
drunken with their blood. Evidently this woman represents 
an impostor, a deceiver, the head of a false and idolatrous 
worship, and she exercised great power and authority for 
she presumes to sit even upon the Beast after the same fashion 
as she was seen to sit on all her subjects. Who was this 
woman? The Seer had no explanation and seeing her he 
greatly wondered. 


The Mystery of the Beast Explainea oy the Angel 

“And the angel said unto me, Wherefore didst thou 
marvel? I will tell thee the mystery of the woman, and of 
the beast that carrieth her, which hath the seven heads and 
ten horns. The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; 
and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into per- 
dition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, 
whose names were not written in the book of life from 
the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast 
that was, and is not, and yet is” (ch. 17:7, 8). 


As has been already revealed, the number of the Beast, 666 or 
616, was the number of a man, the Antichrist, who formerly 
lived on the earth for once he “WAS.” But when the revela- 
tion was given to John that beastly man was dead for “HE IS 
NOT.” However, he “YET IS”; he is to be restored to life, 
and he will again bear rule over men on this earth; hence he 


shall ASCEND OUT OF THE BOTTOMLESS PIT where, 


THE OVERTHROW OF MYSTERY, BABYLON 289 


as a lost soul, he is today and was at the time John received 
the revelation. But his doom is fixed and irrevocable, and so 
after being the world emperor for a few brief years he must 
go into perdition. Such is the Beast who will be the head of 
the beastly empire that carries the woman, or that supports 
and yet submits to her domination. Well may the unregenerate 
earth dwellers wonder when, in due time, they behold the 
Beast that was, and is not, and yet IS. 


The Mystery of the Seven Heads Explained by the Angel 


“And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven 
heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth. 
And there are seven kings (kingdoms): five are fallen, 
and one is, and the other is not yet come: and when he 
cometh, he must continue a short space. And the beast 
that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the 
seven, and goeth into perdition” (ch. 17: 9-11). 


In Scripture the word “mountain” is used both in a literal 
and in a symbolic sense. When it is said, The mountains are 
round about Jerusalem (Ps. 125:2), a literal meaning attaches 
to the word. But when the prophet declares, The Stone that 
smote the image (seen in the dream of Nebuchadnezzar) be- 
came a great mountain and filled the whole earth; and again 
when he says, The Stone was cut out of the mountain without 
hands (Dan. 2:35, 45), it is evident that the word “mountain” 
is employed as a symbol or figure of organized human govern- 
ment, or of an earthly kingdom. Other prophets also have 
used the word thus symbolically (Isa. 2:2). 

The Seer has used the word in this Scripture with a double 
meaning to indicate (1) where the woman is located; and that 
will be a place of seven literal mountains; and then to signify 
(2) what will constitute the empire of the Beast: that empire 
is to consist of seven symbolic mountains, or the heads, or 
kings, of seven different kingdoms. Of the seven kings, or 
kingdoms, all of which will be included in the Beast’s empire 
it is revealed that at that time, or in the days of the Seer, 
five are fallen, one is and the other is not yet come; and when 
he cometh he must continue a short space. The five fallen 
kingdoms probably refer to the empires of Egypt, Assyria, 


290 IS THE KINGDOM AGE AT HAND? 


Babylonia, Medo-Persia and Greece. The one surviving king- 
dom in the days of the Seer was pagan Rome, which like 
Babylonia took its name from its Capital city. The other 
kingdom which had not yet come refers most likely to the 
Eastern Roman empire, having for its Capital Constantinople. 
The Beast, therefore, who was, and is not, and yet is, who will 
organize even the eighth and last beastly world empire, and who 
is of the seven, and who goeth into perdition, will be the former 
emperor of Rome, even the monster, Nero, as already 
explained. 


The Mystery of the Ten Horns Explatmed by the Angel 


“And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, 
which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power 
as kings one hour with the Beast. These have one mind, 
and shall give their power and strength unto the Beast. 
These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall 
overcome them: for He is Lord of lords, and King of 
kings: and they that are with Him are called, and chosen, 
and faithful” (ch. 17; 12-14). 


It ought to be clear to thoughtful readers that the ten horns 
here described are entirely different horns, or rulers, from 
those mentioned both in the prophecy of Daniel (7:7, 8), and 
also in the earlier part of this prophecy of the Revelation 
(13:1, 2). Those ten horns had received their kingdoms. 
Three of them were overcome and torn up by the roots; thus 
seven heads only remained to form the empire of the Anti- 
christ. And these seven remaining horns, subject to the Beast, 
the emperor, continued as heads of their respective kingdoms 
and reigned with the Beast while his empire lasted. But here are 
ten horns, or kings, with no kingdoms as yet, who receive power 
with the Beast as kings only for one hour. These ten horns, 
therefore, are not included in the empire of the Beast, although 
for a very brief period of time, one hour, they become asso- 
ciated with him to make war with the Lamb. For this purpose 
they are of one mind and they give their power and strength 
unto the Beast. Hence they will be part of the army of the 
Beast gathered at the place called Armageddon, and there 
the Lamb shall overcome them; for He is Lord of lords and 


THE OVERTHROW OF MYSTERY, BABYLON 291 


King of kings. The called, chosen and faithful who are on 
His side, and with Him, and who shall share with Him the 
victory over the armies of Antichrist, and the one hundred and 
forty four thousand having His Father’s name written in 
their foreheads and who follow the Lamb whithersoever He 
goeth. These constitute the True Church, the Bride of Christ, 
or His Anointed One. They are the called, the chosen, the 
faithful. 


The Kings from the Sun Rising, or the East 


But who are the ten kings? The Seer furnishes the answer 
in what the angel further revealed unto him: 


“And he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest, 
where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and 
nations, and tongues. And the ten horns which thou saw- 
est upon the beast, these shall hate the whore, and shall 
make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and 
burn her with fire. For God hath put in their hearts to 
fulfil His will, and to agree, and give their kingdom unto 
the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled” (ch. 


17:15-17). 


The ten horns are here associated with the peoples, multi- 
tudes, nations and tongues of which none is shown to have 
risen to the dignity of a kingdom. They are a great horde 
of people, a motley multitude, belonging to small nations and 
tribes over which the ten horns are petty rulers or satraps. 
These multitudes have suffered a long time from the oppression 
and arrogance of the woman who is shown as sitting on them 
(v. 1); hence they hate the whore; they have resolved to make 
her desolate, to eat her flesh, and to burn her with fire. By 
so doing they will fulfil God’s will as they further do when 
they agree, and give their kingdom unto the beast, until the 
words of God shall be fulfilled. 

Now it is possible to understand what was any thing other 
than clear in the revelation connected with the sixth trumpet 
(ch. 9:13-21), and the sixth bowl of wrath (ch. 16:12-16). 
Under the sixth trumpet there is an account of a great army 
of horsemen from the region of the Euphrates river who were 
marshalled for war, after the four angels were loosed which 


292 IS THE KINGDOM AGE AT HAND? 


were prepared for an hour, a day, a month, and a year. This 
army was to accomplish the purpose of that judgment, namely, 
to slay the third part of men. In connection with that revela- 
tion no hint is given as to the cause of the strife; and aside 
from the fact that the armies of the Antichrist were probably 
engaged in battling with these horsemen, for no other forces 
would be at all able to cope with them, nothing is recorded 
regarding the result of the conflict other than that the third 
part of men was slain. And not a word is said as to how peace 
was finally restored. 

However, in Daniel’s prophecy (11:36-45), it is revealed 
that at the time of the end, the Antichrist will have war with 
many countries in the midst of which “tidings out of the east 
and out of the north shall trouble him: therefore he shall go 
forth with great fury to destroy, and utterly to make away 
many. And he shall plant the tabernacle of his palace between 
the seas in the glorious holy mountain; yet he shall come to 
his end and none shall help him.” Once more, after the sixth 
bowl judgment had dried up the water of the Euphrates that 
the way of the kings of the East might be prepared, there 
follows immediately the account of the three unclean, frog- 
like spirits that were sent out by the dragon, the Beast, and 
the false prophet to interview these kings of the East, or 
from the sun rising, and to persuade them, by means of pre- 
tended miracles, and by lying promises of reward to appeal 
to their covetousness, to join forces with the armies of the 
Antichrist in the battle of the great day of God Almighty. 

Putting these several parts of the revelation together affords 
a very complete picture of a prophecy that will probably be 
fufilled in the latter days. Here are the facts suggested at 
least by the picture that results from the combined revela- 
tions: (1) These multitudes of eastern peoples and their 
rulers will be wronged, degraded and oppressed by the Harlot 
who represents a false system of religion and whom these 
multitudes at last came to hate, and finally purposed to destroy 
her. Hence they united to make war against her. (2) The 
uprising of so great a mass of people and their determination 
to overthrow one of the favored institutions of his empire were 
the tiding from the East that troubled the Antichrist, and that 


THE OVERTHROW OF MYSTERY, BABYLON 293 


caused him to go forth with great fury to stop the invasion 
and to destroy the enemy. (3) While a portion of the army 
of the kings of the East engaged the Beast and his army in 
battle near Jerusalem, and thus brought suffering and death 
to many of the inhabitants of that city (Rev. 6: 13-21), another 
division of the army of the Eastern kings marched direct for 
the accomplishment of the chief purpose of the war, and 
succeeded in utterly destroying this woman, and in burning 
her with fire (Rev. 17:16). Here were the tidings out of 
the North that added to the discomfiture of the Antichrist. 
(4) Learning of this defeat, the Antichrist, instead of further 
prosecuting the war, sent forth the three unclean, frog-lke 
spirits as his ambassadors, to treat with these kings of the East, 
to persuade them to agree to a truce; and further, to induce 
them to make a league with him for the destruction of Jerusa- 
lem. (5) With lies, cunning craftiness and promises of rich 
reward made to these kings, the unclean spirits succeeded in 
gathering them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty 
(Rev. 16:12-14) ; for God had put it into their hearts to agree, 
and give their kingdom unto the Beast (Rev. 17:17). (6) Thus 
for one hour, or a very brief period of time, they receive power 
with the Beast who thus appears in the vision with these ten 
horns, or kings. This at least is a reasonable understanding 
of these several prophecies that probably all refer to the same 
occasion, and that apparently will be fulfilled at the same 
time, although but a partial view is given of the complete event 
in any one of the prophecies. 


The Mystery of the Woman Explained by the Angel 


“And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, 
which reigneth over the kings of the earth” (ch. 17:18). 


It is very evident, therefore, that the Scarlet woman is used 
as a symbol for a certain city. It is not only a city which, 
like the Capital of the Beast empire, reigneth over the kings 
of the earth, but also it is a city that is the personification of 
a great system of false, blasphemous, deceitful and idolatrous 
religion such as is characterized by the woman who is the 
MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF 


294 IS THE KINGDOM AGE AT HAND? 


THE EARTH. The city must represent a religious system 
with hypocritical claims and pretensions to royal dignity and 
authority so that the leading representatives of that morally 
rotten and satanic system of idolatry, as far as in their power 
lieth, put all peoples of every degree of rank, and also all 
civil governments, those of the greatest and mightiest empires 
not less than those of smaller and uninfluential nations, under 
their feet. It must be a system of religion which by means 
of lies, deceptions and pretended power to work miracles keeps 
all alike in subjection to a tyrannical and arbitrary will, and 
oppresses its devotees even as the symbolic woman is revealed 
as sitting upon peoples, multitudes, nations and tongues, and 
also upon the Beast himself who will be the supreme head of 
the greatest Gentile empire that ever will be organized on this 
earth. The great city which this woman symbolizes must reign 
over the kings of the earth in this manner in order to fill out 
the conditions described in this vision. 

There never was but one such city, and it still exists and 
proudly boasts of being the eternal city. That city is papal 
Rome, which since the time of that woman Jezebel, and the 
development of the papal hierarchy, has been the personifica- 
tion of all that is symbolically represented by the Scarlet woman 
of this prophecy. Rome is also the only city known to history 
that is built upon seven hills and which thus satisfies a further 
condition of this prophecy (v. 9), and that city today, as the 
representative of the greatest antichristian system of idolatrous 
worship and of deceitful practices that has ever cursed the 
earth, has for its motto “Semper eadem,” meaning “Always the 
same.” Like a piece of gum elastic, its policy can be stretched 
out and made to appear very broad and tolerant; for “the end 
justifies the means”; or on the instant it can contract to its 
natural condition and reveal the narrow and intolerant spirit 
that holds “ignorance to be the mother of devotion,” and that is 
ever ready to persecute to the limit of its power all who fail 
to yield full submission to its tyranny. 

The origin of the papacy is not to be traced to God or to the 
Word of God, but rather to that woman Jezebel who calleth 
herself a prophetess, and who taught and seduced God’s ser- 
vants to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed unto 


THE OVERTHROW OF MYSTERY, BABYLON 295 


idols (ch. 2:20). True, the system of religion known as 
the Papal hierarchy, at the head of which is the Pope of Rome, 
sprang up within the True Church; and usurping the preroga- 
tives of Christ, that blasphemous system of idolatry soon put 
forth the claim of being the only true Church of God on earth. 
Further, under the pretense of being the vice-regent of Christ, 
the head of that system of abominations wears the royal purple, 
and assumes to reign over the kings of the earth as the King 
of kings and the Lord of lords. His cardinals, who are mere 
civil rather than ecclesiastical functionaries, are clothed in 
scarlet, and that false religious system has aided, encouraged 
and abetted the persecution and slaughter of God’s people 
Israel, and also of true Christians whenever and wherever the 
opportunity offered. Of that iniquitous system, therefore, it 
may truly be said that it is drunken with the blood of the 
saints and of the martyrs of Jesus. 

Besides, according to credible history, that church, or system 
of pagan idolatry, has well earned the title of the Scarlet 
woman, the Mother of harlots and abominations of the earth. 
Even today the papacy answers to the description of that other 
beast out of the earth having the two lamb-like horns which 
represents both ecclesiastical and civil power and which speaks 
like a dragon. And in due time this beast will exercise all the 
power of the first beast, the Antichrist, and eventually will 
even sit on him. But her pretensions and conduct will only 
hasten the destruction of the city of Rome which is the per- 
sonification of the Babylon of Mystery even as the Seer 
records. 

Papal Rome, with its system of idolatrous worship and 
blasphemous pretensions, will be a choice institution in the 
empire of the Beast. And, in the days of the Antichrist, with 
the false prophet, or the other beast, who probably will be Judas 
Iscariot the greedy covetous thief who cared not for the 
poor (John 12:6), at the head of that system, it will not be 
surprising if the multitudes of long oppressed and degraded 
masses of earth’s peoples that have been trodden under the 
heel of such despotism, tyranny and greed, should hate the 
whore of this prophecy, make her desolate and naked, and 
burn her with fire. 


296 IS THE KINGDOM AGE AT HAND? 


Such then will be the doom of that great city which reigneth 
over the kings of the earth. And the instrumentality which 
shortly before the end of this age God will employ to fulfil 
His will in the total destruction of this beastly city, papal 
Rome, and the whole idolatrous system which it personifies, 
will be the forces of the evil one. Thus will be fulfilled the 
prediction concerning the children of that woman Jezebel, the 
unmarried (Rev. 2:22, 23), and God will bring about the 
result “by the wicked which is His (Thy) sword,” (Ps. 17:13). 


» 


CHAPTER XXVI 
THE DOOM OF BABYLON THE GREAT 


Babylon the Great 1s Destroyed Never to be Rebuilt Again 


“And after these things I saw another angel come down 
from heaven, having great power; and the earth was 
lightened with his glory. And he cried mightily with a’ 
strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, 
and is become the habitation of demons, and the hold 
of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and 
hateful bird. For all nations have drunk of the wine of 
the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth 
have committed fornication with her, and the merchants 
of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her 
delicacies” (ch. 18: 1-3). 


Since, as already revealed, the city of Rome, or Mystery 
Babylon, will be destroyed by the ten kings who later are 
induced to become associated with the Beast, it seems certain 
that Rome will not be the Capital city of the Antichrist. The 
Beast might have been compelled to surrender to the kings 
had they overthrown the seat of his government and of his 
empire, but in that case as victors they would not have con- 
sented to join in a league in which they would hold a position 
subordinate to the one they had conquered. Yet if this prophecy 
is correctly interpreted that was the very nature of the league 
into which these victorious kings from the East, or from the 
sun rising, had been persuaded to enter by the three unclean, 
frog-like spirits who served as ambassadors for the dragon, 
the Beast, and the false prophet. 

However, expositors of this Book of the Revelation who 
believe that Rome will be the Capital of the Beast’s empire, 
claim also that MYSTERY BABYLON and Babylon the 
great are one and the same city. They endeavor to make a 
distinction between ecclesiastical Babylon and political Babylon 


297 


298 IS THE KINGDOM AGE AT HAND? 


both of which they explain to be the city of Rome. They claim 
also that it is only ecclesiastical Babylon, or the Scarlet woman, 
and not political Babylon, or the Capital of the last Gentile 
world power, that was destroyed by the ten kings who later 
associated themselves with the Beast. Thus while MYSTERY 
BABYLON. was destroyed there still remained Babylon, the 
commercial city of wealth and luxury, the fall of which is 
later announced by the mighty angel. 

It is true that Rome papal represents a religio-political sys- 
tem and that she has ever been more interested in the latter 
than in the former part ofthe system. In fact she propagates 
and prostitutes her religion chiefly in the interest of her poli- 
tics. But it is difficult to understand how one part of that 
system can be utterly destroyed and burned with fire and the 
other part remain even though it be only for a short time. 

The chief reason why such expositors attempt to maintain 
this distinction is their belief in Old Testament prophecy that 
predicts concerning the literal Babylon, the glory of kingdoms 
and the beauty of the Chaldees’ excellency, that it shall never be 
inhabited, neither shall it be dwelt in from generation to gen- 
eration, neither shall the Arabian pitch tent there, neither shall 
the shepherds make their fold there (Isa. 13:20; Jer. 50:3, 
393 51:29, 62). 

If it could be demonstrated that such prophecies refer ex- - 
clusively to the ancient city of Babylon that already has lain 
desolate for so many generations, then the sincere believer in 
the Bible as the Word of God could not possibly entertain 
the suggestion that that city would be ever again rebuilt. But 
a closer examination of these prophecies appears at least to 
reveal that Isaiah had in view two destructions of that city. 
Referring to the destruction of Babylon (1) by the Medes 
he declared that the result would be “as when God overthrew 
Sodom and Gomorrah.” And then, ignoring the time during 
which God’s Covenant with Israel was suspended, he predicts 
a second destruction of that city which would occur (2) in the 
latter days when God was once again dealing with Israel. And 
it is only as then destroyed for the second time that he de- 
clares concerning that city: “It shall never (lo la-netsach, 
literally, ‘not to perpetuity’) be inhabited,” etc. (Isa. 13:20). 


THE DOOM OF BABYLON THE GREAT 299 


Thus understood, Isaiah’s prophecy will harmonize with that 
of the prophet Jeremiah who certainly predicted two destruc- 
tions of that city. The first declares,the destruction and utter 
desolation of that city by the Medes, and then it was to remain 
a ruin for. an age (Heb. Olam) (Jer. 50:3; 51:26, 62); the 
second predicts the destruction and perpetual (lo la-netsach) 
desolation of that city (Jer. 50:39). Further, after Jeremiah 
has finished his prediction concerning the first destruction of 
Babylon he was directed to add this additional very significant 
revelation: 


“And it shall be when thou hast made an end of read-’ 
ing this book, that thou shalt bind a sToNne to it, and 
cast it into the midst of Euphrates: And thou shalt say, 
Thus shall Babylon sink, and shall not rise from the evil 
that I will bring upon her: and they shall be weary. Thus 
far are the words of Jeremiah” (Jer. 51:63, 64). 


The prediction, therefore, concerning the first destruction 
of that city by the Medes, which has resulted in the city re- 
maining a desolation for an age, has now been literally ful- 
filled. The prediction concerning the second destruction of 
that city by the STONE, which will result in the perpetual 
ruin of Babylon which shall never again be inhabited, not only 
permits, but necessitates the rebuilding of that ancient city 
which has now for generations, since its overthrow by the 
Medes, been desolate and without inhabitant. 

This explanation clears away also the difficulty that is found 
in the Book of Revelation if it is to be understood that both 
Mystery Babylon, and also Babylon the great refer to the 
city of Rome. For here it is revealed that Rome, Mystery 
Babylon, will be destroyed by the ten kings from the East 
before the end of this age (Rev. 17: 15-17), while Babylon 
the great, the Capital city of the Beast’s empire, will be over- 
thrown only at the very end of the age, and then it will be 
destroyed by the great earthquake to be sent upon the earth by 
the Stone, cut out without hand, at the time of the final smiting 
and complete ruin of the great image of Nebuchadnezzar, 
symbolic of the empire of the Beast, or of the Antichrist 
(Rev. 16:18, 19). 


300 IS THE KINGDOM AGE AT HAND? 


Further, the fulfilment of Old Testament prophecy absolutely 
necessitates the rebuilding of the ancient city of Babylon 
which was destroyed by the Medes about 538 B.c. To the 
prophet Zechariah (5: 5-11), whose work was with the rem- 
nant that had returned to Jerusalem after the seventy years 
of captivity in Babylon had ended, there were given several 
visions concerning events that were related to the end time of 
Gentile world power. In one of these visions his attention 
was called to an ephah that was seen going forth on some 
mission. It was explained to the prophet that this particular 
ephah was just such a one as was commonly used throughout 
the earth by merchants whenever they bought or sold any 
thing requiring to be measured out; hence it would be large 
enough to contain a bushel and three pints. There appeared 
also a talent of lead which like gold, silver, iron and tin, was 
commonly used as a medium of exchange among merchants 
(Ex. 27:12). And there was a woman who was declared 
to represent wickedness (Prov. 11: 1-31; 20 1-23), and her 
place was seen to be in the midst of the ephah. 

Thus this vision pointed to barter and trade, not of an 
ordinary and legitimate character, but rather the teaching of 
the vision presents unmistakably a symbolic picture of a com- 
mercial spirit that is deaf, dumb and blind to any thing and 
every thing other than trade and business, and a spirit pos- 
sessed also of an intense and insatiable greed of gain that will 
cause one to lie and cheat and misrepresent, and to hesitate 
at nothing that will help to increase one’s possessions and obtain 
for him commercial and financial success.. The prophet beheld 
and this woman, wickedness, was cast into the ephah, and the 
weight of lead was placed on top as though to make sure 
that wickedness would remain in that ephah. 

Then the prophet lifted up his eyes and behold, there came 
forth two women, possibly of such character as the daughters 
of the horse-leach (Prov. 30: 11-17), having the wings (god- 
less ambition and covetousness) of a stork (a bird noted for 
having very large wings), and the wind (for the present a 
satanic agency), was in their wings and they were seen to lift 
up the ephah between the earth and the heaven. God is in 
heaven; man is on the earth; this business was lifted between 


THE DOOM OF BABYLON THE GREAT 301 


earth and heaven which suggests that it was to be under the 
control of the Devil, the prince of the powers of the air, the 
spirit who now works in the children of disobedience 
(Eph. 2:2). The prophet then asked, Whither do these women 
bear the ephah?—that representation of debased commercial- 
ism, satanic greed, injustice and oppression. The reply of the 
angel who talked with the prophet was, To build it an house 
in the land of Shinar (which is the Hebrew name for Baby- 
lonia) ; and it shall be established and set there upon her own 
base. 

Of the country of Babylonia, or Shinar, the city of Babylon 
was not only the Capital, but it was also the great commercial 
center. It was through Babylon that the trade route passed; 
and to that once proud city of magnificence and luxury and 
riches the merchants from both the East and the West came 
to sell their wares or to buy their supply of merchandise for 
trading elsewhere. And this prophecy of Zechariah was de- 
livered but a brief period before that city was overthrown 
and destroyed by the Medes. It is a prophecy, therefore, that 
is yet to be fulfilled, and in all the land of Shinar there is no 
other site that will compare with that of ancient Babylon in 
the advantages of location, and in the facilities that can be 
provided for transportation and for commerce in general. 

Even today capitalists are hurrying to complete the Bagdad 
railroad in order to care for and to further develop the great 
possibilities of trade and business in that country and in the 
surrounding densely populated regions. Hence it need sur- 
prise no one if in the daily papers they read the announcement 
before a great while now that the Bagdad railroad will be 
extended to Babylon and to the head waters of the Persian 
Gulf. Such an event will not be opposed to prophecy, but, 
rather, the rebuilding of Babylon the great commercial city 
in the latter days will fulfil prophecy. 

Having then already explained that Mystery Babylon, built 
on seven hills, was the city of papal Rome, and having fore- 
told her destruction by the ten kings from the East, the Seer 
next proceeds to record the doom of Babylon the great, the 
literal city as it shall again be restored, and in due time become 
the Capital of the Beast’s empire. It then will be finally de- 


302 IS THE KINGDOM AGE AT HAND? 


stroyed by the great earthquake and never again be inhabited 
except by demons and lost souls who will be the offscouring of 
the earth. Thus great Babylon will come in remembrance 
before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierce- 
ness of His wrath. 


Revelation of the Intimate Relatton Between MYSTERY, 
BABYLON and Babylon the Great 


In the vision of MYSTERY, BABYLON, the first Beast, or 
Antichrist, is seen in his*relation to the false and idolatrous 
system of religion to be promoted by the second beast. And 
in the vision of Babylon the great, the commercial city, the 
second beast, as the Scarlet woman, is shown in relation to 
the civil power of which the first Beast will be the head, and 
also in relation to the wickedness and abominations that will 
infest the Capital city of the empire of the Antichrist. Thus 
responsibility is shared alike by both of these beasts. The 
cities are separate and distinct but the religio-political system 
under which they will be governed is but one system, and the 
two beasts under the control of Satan are so intimately related 
and at agreement that whatever the one does is with the full 
knowledge and consent of the other. Both of these beasts will 
act at all times in obedience to the will of Satan. Hence all 
the lewdness and crimes of the Scarlet woman, or papal Rome, 
are here charged against the commercial city, or Babylon the 
great, which is also the Capital of the Beast’s empire (v. 5). 


God’s People Warned to Flee Out of Babylon 


“And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come 
out of her, My people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, 
and that ye receive not of her plagues. For her sins have 
reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniqui- 
ties) (chyiSra es), 

“Her plagues,” namely all those judgments described under 
the sounding of the trumpets and the pouring out of the bowls 
of the wrath of God; but especially the judgments of the last 
forty-two months which begin the great tribulation and which 
are sent for the purpose of destroying the empire of the 


ae 


THE DOOM OF BABYLON THE GREAT 303 


Beast. Those mentioned as “My people,’ who then will be in 
that city are Jewish representatives of the house of Jacob who 
will be attracted to Babylon, as they are everywhere today, 
merely by the hope of commercial gain. They will then be 
situated as was Lot in Sodom just before divine judgments 
overwhelmed it, and they are warned to flee out of that doomed 
city while yet there was time. Their place was in Jerusalem 
rather than at the headquarters of the enemies of God and of 
their own people. And they might far better submit them- 
selves voluntarily to privations and suffering in the holy city 
than to share the plagues that fill up the wrath of God, as all 
certainly must do who choose to enjoy the pleasures of sin, 
and who determinedly remain in Babylon, the doomed city, 
to secure for themselves commercial gains and the wages 
of unrighteousness. 


Babylon Will Reap Even as She Has Sown 


“Reward her even as she rewarded you, and double 
unto her double according to her works; in the cup which 
she hath filled fill to her double. How much she hath 
glorified herself, and lived deliciously, so much torment 
and sorrow give her: For she saith in her heart, I sit a 
queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow. There- 
fore shall her plagues come in one day, death, and mourn- 
ing, and famine; and she shall be utterly burned with 
fire: for strong is the Lord God who judgeth her” (ch. 
18 :6-8). 


By some authorities the command to reward her is assumed 
to be addressed to God’s people who are called to come out of 
her. But that command is more probably intended for the 
angels with the seven judgment bowls. These angels are God’s 
redeemed and they will be commissioned to execute God’s 
wrath upon the empire of Antichrist as represented by the 
Capital city. And she is to be rewarded DOUBLE, and her 
cup is to be filled unto her DOUBLE. This will be accom- 
plished because the empire of the Beast will not only suffer 
under the trumpet judgments which it will experience the 
same as the nation of Israel, but in addition thereto the bowl 
judgments will be visited upon those having the mark of the 
Beast, and be limited to such exclusively. Thus the land of 


304 IS THE KINGDOM AGE AT HAND? 


Israel suffers only a third part, while the empire of the Beast 
suffers the two thirds and so the judgment is completed. 

Speaking through His prophet God refers to having de- 
livered His people into the hands of the Chaldeans, and to 
their treatment of the Jews as captives in Babylon. Then, 
addressing that city, He says: 


“Thou saidst, I shall be a lady forever: so that thou 
didst not lay these things (the affliction of the Jews for 
their sins) to heart, neither didst thou remember the 
latter end of it. Therefore hear now this, thou that art 
given to pleasure, that dwellest carelessly, that sayest 
in thine heart, I am, and none else beside me; I shall not 
sit as a widow, neither shall I know the loss of children. 
But these two things shall come to thee in a moment in one 
day, the loss of children, and widowhood; they shall come 
upon thee in their perfection for the multitude of thy 
sorceries, and for the great abundance of thine enchant- 
ments” (Isa. 47:6-9). 


At the time of which the Seer writes, that prediction will be 
fulfilled: in one day the great earthquake will bring upon 
Babylon death, mourning and famine, and as a result of the 
earthquake she shall be consumed with fire. Fire would fol- 
low almost necessarily from the destruction wrought by the 
great earthquake, which however, will be the immediate agency 
employed for the destruction of the city. Thus, like the book 
of Jeremiah to which the Stone was tied, and which was then 
cast into the Euphrates river, so in a moment, without any 
warning, Babylon the great will be swallowed up and disap- 
pear from sight, and will never again be rebuilt. 


Human Lamentation Over the Fall of Babylon 


How the surviving earth dwellers will regard the utter ruin 
and desolation of the great city Babylon is declared: 


“And the kings of the earth, who have committed for- 
nication and lived deliciously with her, shall bewail her, 
and lament for her, when they see the smoke of her burn- 
ing, standing afar off for the fear of her torment, saying, 
Alas, alas, that great city Babylon, that mighty city! for 
in one hour is thy judgment come. And the merchants of 
the earth shall weep and mourn over her; for no man 
buyeth their merchandise any more: the merchandise of 


THE DOOM OF BABYLON THE GREAT 805 


gold, and silver, and precious stones, and pearls, and 
fine linen, and purple, and silk, and scarlet, and all 
thyine wood, and all manner vessels of ivory, and all man- 
ner vessels of most precious wood, and of brass, and iron, 
and marble, and cinnamon, and odors, and ointments, 
and frankincense, and wine, and oil, and fine fiour, and 
wheat, and beasts, and sheep, and horses, and chariots, and 
slaves, and souls of men. And the fruits that thy soul 
lusteth after are departed from thee, and all things which 
were dainty and goodly are departed from thee, and thou 
shalt find them no more at all. The merchants of these 
things, which were made rich by her, shall stand a far 
off for the fear of her torment, weeping and wailing, and 
saying, Alas, alas that great city, that was clothed in fine ~ 
linen, and purple, and scarlet, and decked with gold, and 
precious stones, and pearls! For in one hour so great 
riches is come to naught. And every shipmaster, and all 
the company in ships, and sailors, and as many as trade by 
sea, stood afar off, and cried when they saw the smoke 
of her burning, saying, What city is like unto this great 
city! And they cast dust on their heads and cried, weeping 
and wailing, saying, Alas, alas that great city, wherein 
were made rich all that had ships in the sea by reason 
of her costliness; for in one hour is she made desolate” 
(ch. 18: 9-19). 


These earth dwellers include the kings who have shared 
the guilt and spiritual unchastity of the idolatrous city, and 
who lived deliciously with her; also the merchants who have 
made their profits and amassed great fortunes from the sale 
of all manner of merchandise such as appeals to the idle rich, 
including even the souls of men. These merchants were made 
rich chiefly by supplying the demands of this great and luxuri- 
ous Metropolis of the world. Further, the shipmasters and 
sailors and all stockholders in great corporations that owned 
and had vessels in the sea, and who also were made rich by 
reason of the costliness of this proud and magnificent city,— 
these all unite in a loud and bitter cry of lamentation and 
mourning, saying, Alas, alas, that great city Babylon, that 
mighty city! for in one hour is thy judgment come upon thee. 

The kings will bewail and lament for her in terror because of 
the fear of her torment since they have shared her guilt. The 
less wealthy merchants shall weep and mourn over her because 


306 IS THE KINGDOM AGE AT HAND? 


no man buyeth their merchandise any more. The rich capital- 
ists will not only weep, but they shall bewail also because in 
one hour so great riches, the one and only thing in which their 
interest is centered, or that they consider worth while, is 
come to nought. As a result they must suffer the loss of all 
their coveted investments in that city, and in her ruin they 
will likewise be impoverished. The shipmasters, sailors and 
representatives of corporations having ships plying the sea will 
cast dust on their heads and cry, weeping and wailing, because 
of their financial losses, and because their occupation is gone 
and they have no other means for obtaining a livelihood. It 
will indeed be a sorrowful crowd of frantic mourners: each 
will be found weeping and gnashing his teeth for himself, or on 
his own account, either because of the fear of God’s wrath 
falling on him, or because of unspeakable sorrow for the loss 
of his position, or trade, or his money and his other material 
possessions. And their grief will be inconsolable, for it will 
be only the sorrow of the world that worketh death (2 Cor. 


Fito). 


Both the Holy Angels and the Redeemed Rejoice Over Baby- 
lon’s Destruction 
On the other hand the heavenly hosts, including both the 
holy angels and the redeemed, view the utter destruction and 
ruin of Babylon the great with evident joy and pleasure. The 
angel that with a loud voice has announced the fall of Babylon 
exclaims in his joy: 
“Rejoice over her, thou heaven, and ye holy apostles and 
prophets; for God hath avenged you on her” (ch. 18: 20). 


To this invitation unquestionably the heavens will fittingly 
respond: 


“And a mighty angel took up a stone like a great mill- 
stone, and cast it into the sea, saying, Thus with violence 
shall that great city Babylon be thrown down, and shall 
be found no more at all” (ch. 18:21). 


This act of the angel signifies that the predictions of Isaiah 
- and of Jeremiah will at that time be literally fulfilled as will 


THE DOOM OF BABYLON THE GREAT 307 


be all other prophecies of God’s Word if men only have the 
faith to believe, and the patience to wait the appointed time: 


“For the Lord is not slack concerning His promises, as 
some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to usward, 
not willing that any should perish, but that all should come 
to repentance” (2 Pet. 3:9). 


The heavenly hosts announce also that after Babylon has 
been cast down thus by the STONE that then there will be 
no further human activity to be found in her: 


“And the voice of harpers, and musicians, and of pipers, 
and trumpeters, shall be heard no more at all in thee; 
and no craftsman, of whatsover craft he be, shall be found 
any more in thee; and the sound of a millstone shall be 
heard no more at all in thee; and the light of a candle 
shall shine no more at all in thee; and the voice of the 
bridegroom and of the bride shall be heard no more at all 
in thee: for thy merchants were the great men of the 
earth; for by thy sorceries were all nations deceived. And 
in her was found the blood of prophets, and of saints, 
and of all that were slain upon the earth” (ch. 18: 22-24). 


Any city without music or craftsmen or industry or light or 
the voice of bridegroom or bride would be reduced to utter 
desolation, and the angelic hosts proclaim that such will be the 
condition of Babylon after God has judged her, and they 
know that the fate in store for her will be a just judgment. 
According to a legend that has come down from the first century 
of the present era, the legend of Nero Redivivus, ancient 
Babylon, the Capital city of the Beast and the political head- 
quarters of his empire, was to have at its head the Antichrist 
in the person of the rejected Roman emperor Nero who died 
by his own sword about 68 A.D. This emperor was a monster 
of cruelty and one of the bloodiest persecutors of both Jews 
and Christians that ever lived and his character will not be 
improved when he ascendeth out of the bottomless pit to become 
the world emperor agreeable to Satan’s purpose. His Capital 
then, the great city of Babylon, will be the representative city 
of iniquity and the habitation of cruelty so that she may be 
justly held responsible for all the evil to be found on the 


308 IS THE KINGDOM AGE AT HAND? 


earth including the blood of prophets and of saints and of all 
that were slain on the earth. Hence the heavenly hosts shed 
no tears over her ruined and desolate state from which she will 
not again arise. Theirs is not the voice of weeping, wailing, 
lamentation and mourning, but instead, heaven will ring with 
their shouts of joy and gladness in response to the proclama- 
tion of the mighty angel: “Rejoice over her, thou heaven, and 
ye holy apostles and prophets; for God hath avenged you on 
her.” 


CHAPTER XXVII 
THE RETURN OF THE KING OF KINGS 


The End of the Twmes of the Gentiles 

Jesus declared, “Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the 
Gentiles UNTIL the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled” (Ik. 
21:24). Those “times” would appear to have been about ful- 
filled, therefore, when the great earthquake will cause the cities 
of the nations, including great Babylon, to fall, and when, also, 
as a result, the great city of Jerusalem will be divided into three 
parts. Three, being the number of the Trinity and of a divine 
work, suggests that at that very time God will take possession 
of the holy city which will then no longer be trodden under 
Gentile feet. That would be the end also of the forty-two 
months, or the twelve hundred and sixty days, or of a time, 
times, and a half (Dan. 12:7). 

But the prophet Daniel gives another reckoning also. Refer- 
ring to events which will occur in the midst of the (year) week, 
or just before the last three and a half years begin, when the 
Antichrist will break the covenant he made with many of 
Daniel’s people, and when in God’s temple at Jerusalem he 
will require all peoples to worship him as God, Daniel says, 


“From the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken 
away, and the abomination that maketh desolate set up, 
there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days” 
(Dan. -12:11). 


This is thirty days beyond the forty-two months at the end of 
which the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled. The cities of the 
nations will have been destroyed by the earthquake, and of the 
organized empire of the Beast there will be left only his armies. 
It would appear probable, therefore, that thirty days after the 
earthquake, the terrible storm of great hail and of lightning 


309 


310 IS THE KINGDOM AGE AT HAND? 


will occur that will not only add to the destruction of the 
cities of the nations and complete the ruin of Babylon, but it 
will also destroy the armies of the Antichrist which will have 
withdrawn from Jerusalem to the field of Armageddon where 
the returning Christ, on the great day of the Lord, will tread 
alone the winepress of the wrath of God without the city 
(Jerusalem). 

Following that event there will be the Supper of the great 
God to be given to all the fowls of the heaven. These vultures 
are called to come that they may eat the flesh of the men and 
of the horses slain on the bloody field of Armageddon, and 
it will probably require a month and a half, or forty-five days, 
before the carcasses of all the slain will have been consumed 
(Matt. 24:28). Hence Daniel further declares: 


“Blessed is he that waiteth, and cometh to the three 
thousand three hundred and five and thirty days’ (Dan. 
12112): 


The reason is evident: The enemies of Christ at that time will 
have perished from the earth; the earth herself also will have 
been purified by the fires of divine judgments, and the way will 
therefore be prepared for the glories and blessedness of the 
Kingdom age to begin. 


Heavenly Alleluias Announce the Reign of the Christ Bequn 

In the study of this Book of the Revelation attention has 
already been called to the fact that after the opening of the 
sixth seal, six being the number of evil, of Satan, and of 
Antichrist, the Gentile world powers have reached the end of 
their day of opportunity and are brought face to face with the 
great day of Christ’s wrath (ch. 6:17). Again, after the 
sounding of the sixth trumpet, the second woe trumpet, the 
earthquake partially destroyed the holy city Jerusalem, slew 
part of its inhabitants who were of the house of Jacob and 
caused the remnant of them affrighted to give glory to the God 
of heaven (ch. 11:13). And after the sixth bow! of wrath 
was poured out the great river Euphrates was dried up, and 
thus was prepared the way of the kings of the East who 
were then in league with the Antichrist, and who were gathered 


THE RETURN OF THE KING OF KINGS S11 


together under his command at Armageddon for the battle of 
the great day of God Almighty (ch. 16:12-16). 

Then when the seventh seal was opened, seven being the 
number of dispensational fulness and completion, there was 
silence in heaven about the space of half an hour (ch. 8:1); 
after the seventh trumpet sounded both ‘the harvest of the 
earth and the vintage of the clusters of the vine of the earth 
were reaped (ch. 14:14-20), and after the seventh bowl was 
poured out the great earthquake caused Jerusalem to be divided 
into three parts, and the cities of the Gentile nations, including 
great Babylon, to fall (ch. 16:17-20). Thirty days thereafter 
there followed the great hail storm (ch. 16:21), that com- 
pleted the ruin and desolation which God will have brought upon 
the earth (Ps. 46:1-8). These terrible divine judgments were 
all ordered and controlled by Christ, the glorified Son of Man. 
He was not in them (1 Kings 19:1-12), but these judgments 
were sent before Him (Ps. 50:3), as a warning that He would 
no longer keep silence. 

At the end of the thirty days, therefore, or just before the 
hail storm, the time will have come for His Personal return 
in His glory to this earth to crush before Him every foe, to 
smite rebellious nations with the iron rod of justice (Ps. 2:9), 
to sit in His throne of glory (Matt. 25:31),—the throne of 
His father David, and to reign on the earth. 

The announcement of the fall of Babylon the great, the 
Capital city of the Beast’s empire, appears to have been the 
signal for which, after the seventh seal was opened, the angels 
in heaven kept silence for the space of half an hour (ch. 8:1). 
Now the signal has been given, “Babylon is fallen, is fallen!” 
and as though in response to the glad cry, “Rejoice over her 
thou heaven,” the Seer receives another vision of events that 
occur in heaven preparatory to Christ’s return to this earth. 

“And after these things I heard a great voice of much 
people in heaven, saying, Alleluia; Salvation, and glory, 
and honor, and power, unto the Lord our God. For 
true and righteous are His judgments: for He hath 
judged the great whore (papal Rome), which did corrupt 
the earth with her fornications, and hath avenged the 


blood of His servants at her hand. And again they said, 
Alleluia. And her smoke (Babylon the great) rose up 


312 IS THE KINGDOM AGE AT HAND? 


forever and ever, or to the ages of the ages. And the four 
and twenty elders and the four living creatures fell down 
and worshiped God that sat on the throne, saying, Amen; 
Alleluia. And a voice came out of the throne, saying, 
Praise our God, all ye His servants, and ye that fear 
Him, both small and great. And I heard as it were the 
voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many 
waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, 
Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent REIGNETH” (ch. 
19: 1-6). 


Thus will heaven ring with Alleluias when the set time arrives 
for the Son of Man to take possession of His inheritance and 
to reign in His Kingdom on the earth. 


The Marriage of the Lamb 


But one other event is necessary to complete the preparation 
for the return of the King in His glory. Hence the voice of 
the great multitude proclaim: 


“Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honor to Him: for 
the marriage of the Lamb is come, and His wife hath 
made herself ready. And to her was granted that she 
should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the 
fine linen is the righteousness of saints” (ch. 19:7, 8). 


As the very climax of His beatitudes, Jesus said, 


“Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and perse- 
cute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you 
falsely for My sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for 
great is your reward in heaven, for so persecuted they the 
prophets which were before you” (Matt. 5:11, 12). 


Here, then, we learn the great reward: the marriage of the 
Lamb to His Wife,—the True Church. 

There is no higher, no holier, no more blessed and joyous 
relation that can obtain between a man and a woman than true 
marriage. The marriage relation means more than the common 
possession of each other, more than the sharing on a basis of 
equality all that either may possess, more than the mutual 
exchange of admiration for personal charms, or of confidence 
and trust in the integrity each of the other. True marriage 


THE RETURN OF THE KING OF KINGS 313 


means all of these things, but in addition to all of these things, 
and above them, and more than all else it means the union of 
hearts such as will ever result in sincerest love and in unselfish 
devotion, such as will cause each to live for the other and to 
truly desire to promote the welfare, the comfort and the hap- 
piness of the other rather than of SELF (1 Cor. 13:4-8). 

One who thinks chiefly of self, who talks for the most part 
of things that promote self-interests, who takes opportunity to 
act with downright selfishness, and therefore, one who is self- 
centered, self-opinionated and self-willed, is incapable of 
entering into a true marriage relation with any one. In the 
marriage relation, to whatever degree SELF is made first and 
exalted, to that extent the relation will prove disappointing, 
unsatisfactory and uncongenial. The love of self will destroy 
true love and will engender strifes, bitterness and indifference, 
or even hatred. And it is such results of the union that so 
frequently cause marriage to end in failure. 

And in Scripture imagery the figure of marriage is employed 
to set forth the true fellowship and intimacy that will ever 
exist between God and His people who truly love and faithfully 
serve Him. The nation of Israel was represented as married 
to Jehovah. He was her Husband; she was His wife (Hos. 
2:19; Isa. 54: 1-8; Eze. 16:7). When that nation turned away 
from the true God and became a worshiper of idols she was 
pictured by the prophets as an unfaithful wife and an adulteress. 
So likewise the True Church is represented as the Bride of 
Christ. He loved the Church with an everlasting love and 
gave Himself up to the death of the Cross for her. He nour- 
ished and cherished the Church that He might sanctify it, and 
present it to Himself glorious in holiness, and without blemish 
in the presence of His glory. It was therefore the part of the 
Church as His Bride to love Christ devotedly, to serve Him 
faithfully and to reverence Him as her Head and Husband 
(Eph. 5:21-33), the One altogether lovely and the Chiefest 
among ten thousand. 

And among the redeemed there are those who by the help of 
divine grace have met the requirements and so secured for 
themselves a full reward. And now the time has come for the 
manifestation to all in heaven and on earth of the near and 


314 IS THE KINGDOM AGE AT HAND? 


blessed relation between Christ and those who shall form the 
True Church, ‘The marriage of the Lamb has come; His Wife 
has made herself ready. To her therefore, as the Bride of 
Christ, there is given public recognition and acknowledgement 
before God and the holy angels.” It was granted her that she 
should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white, for the fine 
linen is the righteousness of saints. Note that it was granted 
to the Church thus to be arrayed. The wedding garment was 
her gift from the Bridegroom, but by her love, devotion, serv- 
ice, sacrifices, which were the fruits of her faith in Him, the 
Wife had made Herself ready. 

Probably the same voice that came out from the throne, and 
that had called upon all to praise God, again was heard by the 
Seer, 


“And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they who 
are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he 
saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God. And 
I fell at his feet to worship him. And he saith unto me, 
See thou do it not: I am thy fellowservant, and of thy 
brethren who have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: 
for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy” (ch. 


19:9, IO). 


These blessed ones are the invited guests. They have been 
redeemed not less than the Wife, but they had not attained to 
the same degree of glory and of honor. They are not the 
Bride of the Lamb, but they are the friends of the Bridegroom, 
and as such they are invited to share with Him the joy and 
gladness of the marriage supper. In the poetry of the psalms 
the Lamb’s Wife, or the True Church, is referred to as “the 
daughter of the King,” or of the Heavenly Father, and these 
blessed ones who will be the welcome guests on this occasion 
are represented as Her companions: 


“The King’s daughter is all glorious within: her cloth- 
ing is of wrought gold. She shall be brought unto the 
King in raiment of needlework: the virgins her compan- 
ions that follow her shall be brought unto Thee. With 
gladness and rejoicing shall they be brought: they shall 
enter into the King’s palace” (Ps. 45:13-15). 


THE RETURN OF THE KING OF KINGS 315 


The scene here pictured is not fiction. The Seer is assured 
that there has been revealed to him the truth of God, and 
he is ready to worship the heavenly messenger. But as a 
redeemed and glorified fellowservant of John this messenger 
is not an object of worship. He directs the Seer to worship 
God, and declares, The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of 
prophecy. The Testimony of Jesus means, not the witness 
borne to Him, but rather the witness He Himself has borne 
to the things affirmed to be, “The true and faithful sayings of 
God.” John therefore had received the witness of God and He 
alone was to be worshiped and praised by the Seer for this 
precious revelation of truth. 


The Second Advent: The King Comes in His Glory with the 
Armies of Heaven 


After these events in heaven are duly recorded the attention 
of the Seer is directed to a Rider on a white horse Who is none 
other than the King of all glory returning to this earth at His 
Second Advent. 


“And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; 
and He that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, 
and in righteousness He doth judge and make war” (ch. 


20100): 


Here then is the coming answer to the prayer which Jesus 
taught His disciples, ““Thy Kingdom come; Thy will be done 
on earth even as it is done in heaven.” This is the event for 
which the saints have waited for centuries, saying, “Come Lord 
Jesus; come quickly.” Jesus is here returning to take posses- 
sion of His inheritance, the earth, and to occupy His throne. 
Hence He appears riding upon a horse, the symbol of earthly 
agencies; and it is a white horse which signifies that justice 
and righteousness will characterize the government and rule that 
Christ will establish and maintain here on the earth. 


“His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on His head were 
many crowns; and He had a name written, that no man 
knew, but He Himself. And He was clothed with a ves- 
ture dipped in blood: and His name is called The Word of 
GodwaCchinto si2)'33). 


316 IS THE KINGDOM AGE AT HAND? 


His eyes flashing fire indicate the holy and righteous wrath 
and just indignation which He is about to visit upon His 
enemies, the Antichrist and his armies that will then be gath- 
ered at Armageddon. Jesus went into the far country (heaven) 
to receive for Himself a Kingdom. Now He is returning, even 
as He predicted He would, having upon His head the crowns 
of all earthly kings. These crowns all belong to Him of right, 
and they will be in His possession then (Lk. 19:12; Matt. 
25:14; Mk. 13:34). Probably that unknown name will be in 
addition to the names which He shall be called, “Wonderful, 
Counsellor, The Mighty God, The Everlasting Father, The 
Prince of Peace’ (Isa. 9:6), and different also from the name 
given to Him at His birth. It will be a name that God will 
give Him, and that no man knoweth: 


“A name which is above every name: that at the name 
of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and 
things on earth, and things under the earth; and that 
every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to 
the glory of God the Father” (Phil. 2:9-11). 


His vesture will be dipped in blood. Possibly His own, the 
blood of atonement as some claim. But far more likely there 
is here symbolized the blood of His enemies whom He is about 
to tread down in His wrath and fury (Isa. 63: 1-6). Even now 
He is called, The Word of God, and that fixes His identity be- 
yond question. This rider is the same Word who was made flesh 
and dwelt among us (John 1:1, 2, 14), but whereas at His 
First Advent He had emptied Himself of the power and glory 
that were His equally with the Father, now the Son of Man, 
having once suffered for sin and entered into His glory as the 
God-Man, appears as the fulness of the Godhead bodily. 


“And the armies which were in heaven followed Him 
upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. 
And out of His mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it 
He should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with 
a rod of iron: and He treadeth the winepress of the 
fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And He hath on 
His vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING oF 
KinGs, AND Lorp oF Lorps” (ch. 14-16). 


THE RETURN OF THE KING OF KINGS 317 


The armies on white horses are not the angelic hosts, His 
holy angels (Matt. 25:31), who will undoubtedly accompany 
Him on His return. Such heavenly agencies are never repre- 
sented as being mounted on horses, the symbols of earthly 
agencies. Jesus “sends forth His angels,’ while these armies 
follow Him, and the riders are clothed in the very garments 
that adorn the Wife, and which are declared to be “the right- 
eousness of saints. The armies represent, therefore, the hosts 
of redeemed ones all of whom will be clothed in the fine linen, 
white and clean (Jude 14; Rev. 5:10). Such, having been 
counted worthy to share in the Rapture of the saints, are to 
be ever with the Lord (1 Thes. 4:17), and they will follow 
the Lamb whithersoever He goeth (ch. 14:4). These armies, 
therefore, are the redeemed who will be with Him when He 
returns: they are to share His glory as rulers in the Kingdom, 
and to reign with Him on the earth. Thus both the Son of 
Man Himself and the great armies of the redeemed that will 
follow Him will again serve as earthly agencies to accomplish 
God’s will, and so they appear on white horses. 

The sword out of His mouth is the Word of God, His 
own word, of sovereign authority and power that whether 
spoken to the angels or to the winds or to the waves of the 
sea or to the dead who are in their graves, will be heard and 
will command obedience (Ps. 29:1-11). Here especially it is 
His word with which He shall smite the nations of the Anti- 
christ, and with which He shall rule such of these nations as do 
not perish in the last judgment with a rod of iron, or with 
inflexible justice and righteousness. 

But at that time these very nations are in rebellion against 
Him. They will have been gathered in marshall array for 
the battle of the great day of God Almighty, and before Christ 
can rule them with justice and with equity they must learn to 
submit to Him. Hence the issue of battle must decide for all 
these nations whether Christ or Antichrist is to be recognized 
as the ruler of this earth. The returning Lord, therefore, comes 
to tread the winepress of the fierceness of the wrath of Al- 
mighty God (chs. 14:18-20; 15:16, 17-21; 19:17-21), and that 
His enemies may know against Whom they are to battle Jesus 
has written on His vesture and on His thigh the title that 


318 IS THE KINGDOM AGE AT HAND? 


belongs to Him alone, “KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF 
LORDS.” In that day the enemies of Christ shall be utterly 
wasted and scattered (Isa. 25 :1-12), and Christ shall be exalted 


in the earth, 


CHAPTER XXVIII 


EVENTS FOLLOWING THE BATTLE OF 
ARMAGEDDON 


The Supper of the Great God 


“And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried 
with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in ‘the 
midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together 
unto the supper of the great God; that ye may eat the 
flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of 
mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that 
sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, 
both small and great” (ch. 19:17-18). 


In this vision the Seer describes the awful character and 
the results of the battle of Armageddon which will be the 
closing event on the day of the Lord and with which this present 
evil age will end. 


Scofield’s Note on This Verse 
A Note on these verses in Scofield’s Reference Bible ex- 
plains as follows: 


“Armageddon (the ancient hill and valley of Megiddo, 
- west of Jordan in the plain of Jezreel) is the appointed 
place for the beginning of the great battle in which the 
Lord, at His coming in glory, will deliver the Jewish 
remnant besieged by the Gentile world-powers under the 
Beast and False Prophet (Rev. 16: 13-16; Zech. 12: 1-9). 
Apparently the besieging hosts, whose approach to Jeru- 
salem is described in Isa. Io: 28-33, alarmed by the signs 
that precede the Lord’s coming (Matt. 24:29, 30), have 
fallen back to Megiddo, after the events of Zech. 14:2, 
where their destruction begins; a destruction consummated 
in Moab and the plains of Idumea (Isa. 63:1-6). This 
battle is the first event in ‘the day of Jehovah’ (Isa. 2:12, 
refs.), and is the fulfilment of the smiting-stone prophecy 
of Dan. 2:35.” 


319 


320 IS THE KINGDOM AGE AT HAND? 


It appears to be a reasonable conclusion that the utter rout 
and destruction of the larger part at least of these mighty 
armies of the Antichrist will be accomplished by means of 
the great hail out of heaven every stone of which will be about 
the weight of a talent. Such a storm would most certainly 
make the plague of hail exceedingly great and bring about the 
destruction of the great bodies of organized men encamped in 
the open fields (ch. 16:21). And such a vast multitude of men 
and of horses, suddenly crushed and their bodies mangled by 
the great hailstones, would supply an immense quantity of 
blood. The warmth of these bodies and of the blood also would 
cause the hail to melt quickly, and thus as a great stream colored 
with the blood of the slain, it would flow on like a river of 
blood such as the Seer beheld when the great winepress of 
the wrath of God was trodden without the city, and when 
blood came out of the winepress, even unto the horse bridles, 
by the space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs (ch. 
14:20). As God declared to Job, it was just such treasures 
of hail that He had reserved for the day of trouble and of 
war, and it seems reasonably certain that this day of the great 
battle of God Almighty will be the occasion when God will 
employ this munition of the heavens to render to the proud and 
haughty ones of earth their just deserts. 

The carcasses of the slain will thus cover the battlefield 
of Armageddon, and those who will escape the slaughter will 
give no thought to the burial of the dead, but rather, they will 
flee away panic stricken and in terror, These dead bodies, 
therefore, will serve for food at the supper of the great God 
to which all the fowls, vultures and eagles that fly in the midst 
of heaven will be called to partake. 

As to the result of this battle there will be no uncertainty, 
and so even before the destruction falls the angel standing in the 
sun calls to the fowls, “Come, and gather yourselves together 
unto the supper of the great God.” 


The Armies of Antichrist, and Doom of All Opposed to the 
King of Kings 


“And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and 
their armies, gathered together to make war against Him 


EVENTS FOLLOWING BATTLE OF ARMAGEDDON 321 


that sat on the horse, and against His army. And the beast 
was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought 
miracles before him, with which he deceived them that 
had received the mark of the beast, and them that wor- 
shiped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake 
burning with brimstone. And the remnant were slain 
with the sword of Him that sat upon the horse, which 
sword proceeded out of His mouth; and all the fowls 
were filled with their flesh” (ch. 19:19-21). 


That sword is the sovereign word of Him who has but to 
speak and it is done; to command and it will stand fast (Ps. 
33:9). This gathering of mighty armies, which the Seer here 
beheld, represents the entire force of organized opposition to 
the King eternal, immortal and invisible Who is now about to 
appear. All those in these armies have been trusting in false 
gods and in dumb idols that cannot rise up to their help, and 
much less can they afford them protection and deliverance 
from the Rider on the white horse, Who in the Song of Moses 
contrasts Himself with the rock in which they have trusted 
when He declares: 


“See now that I, even I, am He, and there is no god 
beside Me. I kill, and I make alive; I wound, and I 
heal; neither is there any that can deliver out of My hand. 
For I lift up My hand to heaven, and say (sware), I live 
for ever. If I whet My glittering sword, and Mine hand 
take hold on judgment; I will render vengeance to Mine 
enemies, and will reward them that hate Me. I will make 
Mine arrows drunk with blood, and My sword shall devour 
flesh; and that with the blood of the slain and of the cap- 
tives (wounded), from the beginning of revenges upon 
the enemy” (Deut. 32: 37-42). 


Those who are here seen gathered together to make war 
against Him Who sat on the white horse and against His 
armies were the Beast and the False Prophet and the kings 
of the whole earth and their armies. The doom of part of 
this iniquitous system of world powers has already been con- 
sidered and it included (1) Mystery Babylon, or papal Rome 
that was destroyed by the ten kings; (2) Babylon the Great, 
the literal city and Capital of the Beast’s empire which was 
destroyed by the great earthquake; and now the result of the 


322 IS THE KINGDOM AGE AT HAND? 


great battle of Armageddon, as here revealed, will be the doom 
of (3) the Beast, the Antichrist; (4) the False Prophet, the 
other beast; (5) the kings of the Gentile world; (6) their 
armies, and (7) the dragon who deceiveth the whole world. 

The Beast and the False Prophet that wrought miracles 
before him were taken prisoners and both were cast alive into 
a lake of brimstone. This lake is a symbol of the second death, 
as explained in chs. 20:13; 21:8. It is also “the place prepared 
for the Devil and his angels” (Matt. 25:41), and the second 
death describes the future state of all the impenitently wicked 
who shall be banished from God and compelled to abide under 
His wrath (John 8:21, 24; 3:36). 

Such teachings of Scripture plainly declare that there will 
be future punishment, not less than future reward. And as to 
the duration of future punishment Jesus Himself declared: 
“They shall abide under the wrath of God. To ABIDE may 
possibly mean, as some very spiritually minded Christians teach 
and believe, to continue merely for the ages of the ages; but 
if that be a fact it is one of the secret things that belongs unto 
the Lord our God with which it would be wise for His children 
not to meddle, but rather they should trust Him as the Judge 
of all the earth to do right. 

The remnant were slain with the sword of Him Who sat 
upon the horse ... the fowls were filled with their flesh. 
Thus will be fulfilled the prediction of Jesus, “Wheresoever the 
carcass is, there will the eagles be gathered together (Matt. 
24:28). The Beast and the False Prophet were taken alive, 
and their judgment and the execution of their sentence pro- 
ceeded without delay: they were cast into a lake of brimstone. 
But not so the remnant that were slain: they were destroyed 
by physical death. Hence their trial and the execution of the 
sentence that will be passed upon them await the judgment of 
the Great White Throne when the books will be opened and 
the dead will be judged out of those things which were written 
in them, according to their works (ch. 20:12). That, however, 
will be only after the Kingdom age has ended. These events 
that have just been considered will end “the times of the Gen- 
tiles,” and but one thing more remains to be accomplished in 
order to bring to a close “this present evil age,’ and to fully 


EVENTS FOLLOWING BATTLE OF ARMAGEDDON 323 


prepare the way for the Kingdom age. The next vision de- 
scribes the last event of the age. 


Satan Is Bound for a Thousand Years 


“And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having 
the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. 
And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which 
is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, 
and cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and 
set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no 
more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after 
that he must be loosed a little season” (ch. 20:1-3). 


The key to the bottomless pit is a figure that signifies the 
power and authority to open or close at will this pit, which 
for the present is the abode of evil spirits. So also the chain 
wherewith Satan was to be bound a thousand years is used here 
as elsewhere in Scripture as a mere figure of speech. Of the 
angels who kept not their first estate, but left their own habita- 
tion, Jude declares: “They are reserved in age-lasting chains 
under darkness unto the judgment of the great day” (v. 6). 
The apostle Peter, speaking of these same fallen angels, says: 
“God ... delivered them into chains of darkness, to be re- 
served unto judgment” (2 Pet. 2:4). The chain that will be 
sufficient to bind Satan is probably the will and decree of 
Almighty God which even today holds the Devil under leash, 
restricts his operations and prevents him from going one step 
beyond the limit of divine and sovereign permission. God’s 
will and decree, behind which is the power of omnipotence, 
make a threefold cord, or chain, that is not quickly broken 
(Eccle. 4:12). Omnipotent power will cast Satan into the 
bottomless pit; the will of God will shut him up in that place 
of abode; and God’s decree will set a seal upon him that he 
can neither break nor remove. In the bottomless pit, therefore, 
or in the abyss, the Devil will remain till the thousand years be 
fulfilled ; then he will be loosed for a little season. The thou- 
sand years are probably to be understood as literal, but if one 
prefers to believe otherwise he has a right to his own opinion. 
The particular length of time is not a matter of sufficient im- 
portance to justify a strife of words to no profit. 


824 IS THE KINGDOM AGE AT HAND? 


After the original creation, when this earth was not created 
“without form and void” (Jer. 4:23-26; Isa. 24:1; 45:18), 
and before it had undergone a cataclysmic change, as the result 
of a divine judgment, which caused this earth to “be without 
form and void,” it was probably inhabited by some pre-adamic 
race of which practically nothing is known. Some authorities 
believe they can find hints at least in the Scriptures to indicate 
that the earth was originally inhabited by a race of angelic 
beings, and they suggest that it was on this very earth that 
Satan and his fallen angels were tested. This would be inter- 
esting if true, and it may be entertained as a mere suggestion, 
or possibility, but the claim has not been proven and probably 
it cannot be proved. 

However, it can be satisfactorily established, for those at 
least who believe the Bible, that the present race of mortals, 
or the human family, was created on this earth after its restora- 
tion; and that was about six thousand years ago. Six is the 
number of evil and another thousand years, or the Kingdom 
age, would complete seven thousand, and seven is the number of 
dispensational fulness. Thus the new heaven and the new 
earth would begin the eighth thousand years, and eight is the 
number of new beginning. Aside from the fact that a literal 
thousand years, as the period during which Satan is to be 
bound, and during which earth’s inhabitants also will enjoy the 
blessings of the Kingdom age, fits into what appears to be the 
plan of God, as indicated by sacred numbers, there probably 
is no other proof by which to determine whether the thousand 
years here mentioned are to be understood in a literal or 
symbolic sense. Because it is believed that the argument, based 
on sacred numbers, is sufficient, 1s the reason for stating, as 
above, that the thousand years are probably used in a literal 
sense. 


The Kingdom of God Is Established 


“And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judg- 
ment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them 
that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the 
word of God, and which had not worshiped the Beast, 


EVENTS FOLLOWING BATTLE OF ARMAGEDDON 325 


neither his image, neither had received his mark upon 
their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and 
reigned with Christ a thousand years” (ch. 20:4, 5). 


The Kingdom age will begin immediately after Satan is 
bound and imprisoned in the bottomless pit. Those who will 
occupy the thrones are probably the saints who will return with 
Christ. The judgment given unto them will he the right, or 
the authority, to pass judgment upon all appearing before them 
for trial. It will be one of the special privileges and honors 
conferred upon these reigning saints to judge (1) the twelve 
tribes of Israel (Matt. 19:28); (2) the world, or earth’s in- 
habitants who have survived the desolating judgments that will 
have brought such terrible distress to the nations. And there 
will be many such nations to be judged (Matt. 25:31-46). The 
judgment to be passed on the nations at that time it would 
seem, depends on what had been their manner of treating 
Christ’s brethren, the seed of Abraham. According to the 
Abrahamic Covenant those who blessed him were to be blessed, 
and those who cursed him were to be cursed. Hence while na- 
tions that had treated the Jews humanely were to enjoy for an 
age the blessings of the Kingdom, on the other hand the nations 
that had ill-treated or neglected to deal fairly with God’s Israel, 
were to be driven forth, it would appear, to inhabit a land barren 
and desolate. Such would be the punishment of all the nations 
that had identified themselves with the Antichrist, and whose 
armies will have perished at Armageddon (Joel 2:12, 13, 18- 
20). Further, the enthroned ones are to judge (3) the angels 
(1 Cor. 6:2, 3). The reference is probably to those angels 
who are at present “reserved in chains of darkness unto the 
judgment of the great day.” 

But in addition to these thrones and their occupants the 
Seer beheld the martyrs of Jesus. They were not unclothed, or 
disembodied spirits. The word, soul, is frequently used in 
Scripture to signify persons dwelling in the flesh (Prov. 11:30; 
Acts 2:41; 7:14; 2 Pet. 2:14), and it is evidently so employed 
here. The reference is to those Christians who suffered mar- 
tyrdom because they refused to own allegiance to the Antichrist. 
For that reason they were beheaded, but now these souls “lived 
and reigned with Christ a thousand years.” 


326 IS THE KINGDOM AGE AT HAND? 


The First Resurrection 


“But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thou- 
sand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. 
Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resur- 
rection: on such the second death hath no power, but they 
shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with 
Him a thousand years” (ch. 20:5, 6). 


God is not the author of confusion. Rather, He has. His 
plans that are all carried out in an orderly manner. Hence, as 
might be expected, there isa divine plan and order for the 
resurrection of the dead, and the Scriptures declare that “every 
man will be raised in his own order.” And as has been revealed 
for our learning, the divine order seems to be as follows: 
“Christ the first fruits; afterward (Gr. eita) they that are 
Christ’s at His coming. Then (Afterward, Gr. etta), when He 
shall deliver up the Kingdom to God, even the Father, cometh 
the end (of the resurrection) (1 Cor. 15:23, 24). In other 
words, the resurrection of the rest of the dead is delayed until 
the end of the thousand years. 

Even the first resurrection, which will include none but true 
believers, is not to be a general resurrection. Rather it shall 
be among them also according to the rule: “Every man in his 
own order.”’ There is an order to be observed among believers 
in Christ, which as indicated in the Scriptures, will proceed 
about as follows: (1) The saints that came out of their graves 
immediately following Christ’s resurrection, and whom the Seer 
beheld in heaven and mentions as “the elders” (Matt. 27:52, 
53; Rev. 4:4); (2) The resurrection of those who have loved 
His appearing, and who with other saints of that class living on 
the earth at that time “will be caught up together in the clouds 
to meet the Lord in the air.” This will take place just before 
the apostacy of the Visible Church, and so all whom Christ 
receives at that time will escape the judgment to be sent on 
the earth (1 Thes. 4:13-18; Lk. 21:36; 17:33-37); (3) The 
resurrection of the just, or of such as are justified by their 
faith even though their works of faith have not been all that 
they might and should have been (Lk. 14:13, 14); and then, 
(4) The resurrection of the tribulation saints at the beginning 
of the Kingdom age some of whom, even though among the 


EVENTS FOLLOWING BATTLE OF ARMAGEDDON 827 


Jast to have part in the first resurrection, will receive higher 
honors and greater rewards than some who have preceded them 
in the resurrection unto life (Rev. 20:4; Matt. 19:30; 20:16; 
Lk. 13:30). Thus apparently each of these four classes will be 
included in the first resurrection, and every man will be raised 
in his own order. But all these persons are alike blessed and 
holy; they have escaped the power of the second death and 
belong to the royal priesthood who will live and reign with 
Christ. 

It is especially for the comfort and encouragement of those 
who shall constitute the tribulation saints that just previous to 
the judgments the announcement is made, “Blessed are the dead 
who die in the Lord from henceforth.’ They will be specially 
blessed because as the martyrs of Jesus, which they are almost 
certain to be if they will not worship the Beast, or his image, 
or receive his mark upon their forehead, or in their hands, they 
are of those who shall reign with Christ a thousand years. 


Blessings of the Kingdom Age 

Concerning the character and blessings of the Kingdom age 
the Seer is given no vision to record because that truth is 
abundantly revealed and declared by all of the Old Testament 
prophets, especially as the blessings were related to the nation 
of Israel. Isaiah gives full and glowing descriptions of the 
peace and blessedness of the Kingdom age (Isa. 4:3-6; 9:6, 7; 
PLt1-10$ 121-65 1471-8525 °103 201-19 3 3571-10352 11-105 
60 :8-22; 61:3-11; 66:10-14) as also do all the other Old 
Testament prophets beginning with Moses. And Jesus declares 
that those who would not believe these prophets, neither would 
they believe one who rose from the dead, that is Himself; for 
He spake by the prophets, and their messages have behind them 
all the authority and truth of His own word. Jesus commands 
therefore, “Hear them,” that is the prophets. And it was to 
their messages particularly that the apostle Paul referred when 
he said: 

“Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered 
into the heart of (the natural) man, the things that God 
hath prepared (in the Kingdom age) for them that love 
Him. But God hath revealed them unto us by His Spirit” 

GL Cory 2.0;-10). 


328 IS THE KINGDOM AGE AT HAND? 


Since these truths are so abundantly described and witnessed 
to by Old Testament prophets there is but little more revealed 
on that subject in the New Testament, and practically nothing 
at all in the Book of the Revelation of Jesus Christ. 

But Jesus Himself has made it abundantly clear that, as re- 
lated not to salvation but to the Kingdom of God, there are 
four classes of persons: (1) Those who as children of God 
and joint heirs with Christ (Rom. 8:17), shall inherit the King- 
dom (Matt. 25:14); (2) Those who have little to commend 
them other than their orthodoxy, or their riches, are not far 
from, but shall hardly enter the Kingdom (Matt. 19:23; Mk. 
12 :32-34) ; (3) Those whose righteousness does not exceed the 
righteousness of the Pharisees (Matt. 5:20), or who are con- 
tent with a mere confession of Jesus as Lord (Matt. 7:21), or 
who have not been converted and become as little children, 
cannot enter the Kingdom; and, then (4) Those who have not 
been born again, or from above, cannot even see the Kingdom 
of God (John 3:3). 

It is nowhere said in the Bible of any of these classes of 
professed believers in Christ that they shall not or cannot be 
saved. Rather, to those who questioned such a possibility, the 
answer of Jesus was, “With men this is impossible, but with 
God all things are possible’ (Matt. 19:25, 26). The Bible 
reveals that there are those who have no part in the first resur- 
rection, who are therefore to be classed with “the rest of the 
dead, who live not again until the thousand years are finished,” 
and who, therefore, will neither enter nor see the Kingdom, 
and much less will they be inheritors of the Kingdom. Yet at 
the end of the thousand years when the rest of the dead are 
raised at the resurrection unto life or unto damnation (John 
5:28, 29; Dan. 12:2), and when the dead are called to stand 
before the Great White Throne, then the book of life will be 
opened, and of those who are judged at that time it is declared 
that “whosoever was not found written in the book of life 
was cast into the lake of fire’ (ch. 20:11-15). The inference 
is clear that some, even at this last judgment, will be found 
written in the book of life, and so they will be saved. The mercy 
and grace of God are infinitely greater than many appear will- 
ing to believe. The precious blood shed on the Cross of Calvary 


EVENTS FOLLOWING BATTLE OF ARMAGEDDON 329 


is far more efficacious for the salvation of the lost than some 
seem to realize; and the incomprehensible love of Jesus Christ 
is such that He will not see and be satisfied with the travail 
of His soul without the salvation, even to the uttermost, of 
an innumerable multitude infinitely greater than that for which 
some philosophical systems of theology make allowance. 


The Loosing of Satan 


“And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall 
be loosed out of his prison, and shall go out to deceive 
the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, 
Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the 
number of whom is as the sand of the sea. And they 
went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the 
camp of the saints (God’s Israel; His earthly people) 
about, and the beloved city (Jerusalem): and fire came 
down from God out of heaven, and devoured them” (ch. 


20:7-9). 


Passing by the Kingdom age without further comment the 
Seer records as his next vision an event that will occur after 
the thousand years of the reign of Christ and the blessedness 
of His saints on earth have been finished. This event is the 
loosing of Satan with permission granted him to resume his 
work of deceiving the nations. 

Since God created man a free moral agent, with the power 
to choose between good and evil, it has ever been part of His 
revealed plan to put man to a test and to hold him responsible 
for his choice. And for wise and beneficent reasons it has 
been according to the good pleasure of God’s will to permit the 
Devil to tempt man. But on the one hand, the Devil is limited 
both as to the power he can exert and as to the means he can 
employ, in his work of tempting man, as is clearly shown in 
the experience of the holy man of Uz (Job, chs. 1, 2), and on 
the other hand, God permits no man to be tempted by the 
Devil beyond what he is able to bear. Thus it is possible for 
man, with the help of divine grace, successfully to overcome 
temptation, and to triumph over the tempter if he so wills to do. 

And at the end of the Kingdom age, since Satan will have 
been bound for the entire thousand years, there will be a multi- 


330 IS THE KINGDOM AGE AT HAND? 


tude of our race then on the earth that have never been sub- 
jected to the temptation of the Devil; and it is for the purpose 
of testing such persons that God will loose Satan out of his 
prison for a little season. 

Having thus regained his freedom Satan will go forth to 
deceive all nations of earth, and these nations are designated 
as “Gog and Magog.” In Old Testament prophecy it is said: 


“The word of the Lord came unto Ezekiel, saying, Son 
of man, set thy face against Gog, in the land of Magog, 
the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy 
against him” (Eze. 38:1, 2). 


Both Shem and Japheth, the descendants of Noah, had a son 
named Meshech (Chron. 1:17; Gen. 10:2), and Tubal also was 
a son of Japheth. In explaining Ezekiel’s prophecy, a Note 
in Scofield’s Reference Bible is given as follows: 


“That the primary reference is to the northern (Euro- 
pean) powers, headed up by Russia, all agree. The whole 
passage should be read in connection with Zech. 12:1-4; 
14:1-9; Mt. 24:14-30; Rev. 14:14-20; 19:17-21. ‘Gog’ is 
the prince, ‘Magog’ his land. The reference to Meshech 
and Tubal (Moscow and Tobolsk) is a clear mark of 
identification. Russia and the northern powers have been 
the latest persecutors of dispersed Israel, and it is con- 
gruous both with divine justice and with the covenants 
(e. g. Gen. 15:18, note; Deut. 30:3, note) that destruction 
should fall at the climax of the last mad attempt to exter- 
minate the remnant of Israel in Jerusalem. The whole 
prophecy belongs to the yet future ‘day of Jehovah’ (Isa. 
2:10-22; Rev. 19:11-21), and to the battle of Armageddon 
(Rev. 16:14; 19:19, note), but includes also the final re- 
volt of the nations at the close of the kingdom-age (Rev. 
20:7-9).” 


It is probably correct that the prophecy refers to the north- 
ern powers; but Meshech and Tubal, of whom Gog, in the land 
of Magog, is the chief prince, are prominent representatives of 
the uncircumcised, or of those who are not in covenant relation 
with God (Eze. 32:25-28). And Satan is here said to have 
gone out to deceive the nations “in the four quarters of the 
earth,” and not merely the northern nations or powers. 


EVENTS FOLLOWING BATTLE OF ARMAGEDDON 331 


It seems better suited to the context then to regard Gog 
and Magog as representatives at the time of all nations 
and countries of the earth that had not formally entered into 
covenant relations with God and with His Son Jesus Christ. 
Some of these nations had not been permitted to enter the 
Kingdom or to enjoy its blessings. They had been judged un- 
worthy at the beginning of the Kingdom age and had gone 
“away into age-lasting punishment” (Matt. 25: 41-46). And 
although compelled to submit to the laws of Christ’s Kingdom, 
still they had never willingly owned allegiance to Him as their 
King. To such persons as these the Devil went forth, and 
since by nature man is corrupt; since he loves darkness rather 
than light and his choice is to do evil rather than good, Satan 
was able to deceive a multitude compared in number to the sand 
of the sea. Led on by the Devil, these nations will make war 
with the saints and lay siege to Jerusalem. Thus they had been 
tested; they had made their choice and incurred their respon- 
sibility. But this last desperate attempt of Satan to again get 
possession of the earth was quickly overcome because fire came 
down from God out of heaven, and devoured them (Heb. 
6:4-6). 


The Annihilation of the Soul Is Not Taught in the Scriptures 


And the Devil that deceived them was cast into the lake 
of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false 
prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night to the 
ages of the ages” (ch. 20:10). 


If words are to be recognized as having a definite meaning, 
then it is certain that the doctrine of the annihilation of the soul 
finds no support whatever in Scripture. The Beast and the 
False Prophet, who were cast into the lake of fire before the 
Kingdom age began, are still there at the end of the thousand 
years, and now the Devil is sent to keep company with them, 
and to be tormented day and night for ever and ever, or to 
the ages of the ages. Such teachings suggest any thing other 
than annihilation. 

There are earnest Bible students who are admittedly devout 
Christians yet who insist that punishment of eternal and endless 
duration is not taught in Scripture, and who therefore reason 


332 IS THE KINGDOM AGE AT HAND? 


and argue that after the ages of the ages all who are sentenced 
by a holy and just God to abide under His wrath, not except- 
ing even such fearful creatures as the Devil, the Beast and the 
False Prophet, will then be brought to repentance, and they 
will be converted and saved by the infinite love of God. Thus 
it is claimed that in all the universe of God there will be no 
more sin or suffering or sorrow, and holiness and love will be 
universal. This is a very beautiful theory but it is a matter 
of reasoning and not of revelation. And it is only the things 
that are revealed that belong unto us and to our children, while 
the secret things belong unto the Lord our God (Deut. 29:29). 
It would seem then to be wiser and better to rest in the assur- 
ance that the Judge of all the earth will do right, and to resist 
the temptation to speculate in regard to the secret things that 
belong to God, rather than to assume, in direct contradiction to 
what has been plainly revealed for our learning, that God’s 
thoughts are our thoughts, and His ways are our ways. The 
Bible teaches the opposite of any such conclusion, and declares 
that God’s ways and thoughts are higher above our ways and 
thoughts than heaven is higher than the earth (Isa. 55:8, 9). 
And further, God’s word declares, “It is an honor to a man 
to cease from strife; but every fool will be meddling” 
(Proy:'20 53): 

The revelation concerning Satan, that old Serpent the Devil, 
ends with his being cast into the lake of fire to be tormented 
day and night for the ages of the ages. Hence any attempt 
on man’s part to secure for him an entrance into heaven and a 
place among the redeemed would only be to engage in the useless 
contention and strife of one that beateth the air (1 Cor. 9:26). 


The Great White Throne 
Attention is next directed by the Seer to the last judgment: 


“And I saw a great white throne, and Him that sat on 
it, from Whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; 
and there was found no place for them” (ch. 20:11). 


At the beginning of this prophecy the Seer gives a description 
of the glorified Son of Man, but there is no description at- 
tempted of the One Who sat on the Rainbow Judgment Throne, 


EVENTS FOLLOWING BATTLE OF ARMAGEDDON 333 


beyond saying that He was to look upon like a jasper and a 
sardius (Rev. 4:2, 3). And of the Occupant of the Great 
White Throne it is only declared, “From His face the earth 
and the heaven fled away. Evidently this indescribably glori- 
ous Being is God the Father, the First Person of the adorable 
Trinity. The event here revealed brings us to the time to 
which the apostle referred: 


“Then cometh the end (of the resurrection), when He 
(Christ) shall have delivered up the Kingdom to God, 
even the Father; when He shall have put down all rule 
and all authority and power. For He must reign, till He _ 
hath put all enemies under His feet. The last enemy that 
shall be destroyed is death. . . . And when all things shall 
be subdued unto Him, then shall the Son also Himself 
be subject unto Him Who put all things under Him, that 
God may be all in all” (1 Cor. 15:24-28). 


This evidently is not the same judgment scene as the one 
recorded in Matt. 25: 31-46, because in that scene Jesus sits on 
the throne of his glory; He is passing judgment on the nations 
of the earth to decide which of them is worthy to enjoy the 
Kingdom prepared for them from the foundation of the world, 
and which deserve to be sentenced to age-lasting punishment. 
On the other hand, in the judgment scene recorded here in 
Revelation, it is God the Father Who occupies the Great White 
Throne, and it is not living nations but the dead who are to be 
judged. Further, the place of the judgment is not this earth, 
because the heaven and earth also have fled away; and the 
verdict is not to determine who shall enjoy and who shall be 
denied Kingdom blessings and rewards, because the Kingdom 
age has ended. The verdict on this occasion will decide who 
are entitled to life and who deserve to be cast into the lake of 
fire which is the second death. These judgment scenes, there- 
fore, are entirely different. 


The Judgment of the Dead 


“And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; 
and the books were opened: and another book was opened, 
which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out 
of those things which were written in the books, accord- 
ing to their works” (ch. 20:12). 


334 IS THE KINGDOM AGE AT HAND? 


Whatever may be the character of the record, and however 
or by whomsoever it is kept, of one thing all may be sure, and — 
that is that in heaven there is a correct and full account of 
every one’s deeds whether good or evil. In this present time, 
the good men do, or try to do, may be neither understood nor 
appreciated, and so they receive but little or no reward. Still 
it pays to do good, because the unselfish desire and intention, 
the pleasant smile of encouragement, the kindly word, the 
helpful act, however these things may pass unnoticed now, they 
will all be written down in God’s book of remembrance (Mal. 
3:16), and if the good we do springs from a right motive and 
a sincere desire to obey and please God it will assure that the 
names of all such persons shall be written in the book of life. 
The good may not be sufficient, or of a kind, to secure entrance 
into and enjoyment of Kingdom blessings and rewards, but 
before the Great White Throne it will be recognized, appre- 
ciated and rewarded. 

And on the other hand, the evil men do, although it may 
not receive deserved punishment now, will not then and there 
escape attention; because if it be a kind and character that 
springs from selfish and wicked motives, and that is persisted 
in without true repentence regardless of the accusations of con- 
science, that fact also will be recorded in heaven, and men will 
have to face the fact in the white light of that judgment throne. 
And on the irrevocable sentence of a holy and just God whoso- 
ever, small or great, is not found written in the book of life, 
will be cast into the lake of fire. 


Not One of the Dead At that Time Escape that Judgment 


As this will be the final judgment it will include all those 
who have not been previously judged out of those things which 
were written in the books, according to their works: 


“And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and 
death and hades delivered up the dead which were in 
them: and they were judged every man according to 
their works. And death and hades were cast into the lake 
of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was 
not found written in the book of life was cast into the 
lake of fire” (ch. 20:13-15). 


EVENTS FOLLOWING BATTLE OF ARMAGEDDON 335 


It is the teaching of Scripture that all men, both those to 
whom God grants the privilege of having part in the first resur- 
rection and those also whose resurrection is delayed until the 
final judgment, shall be judged out of those things which were 
written in the books, according to their works, and that each 
man also shall be rewarded according to his works. Divine 
justice demands that it shall be even so. But since, because 
of sin, every man’s life has been forfeited to justice, the reward 
for works will have nothing whatever to do with determining 
the question as to whether any one is entitled to life which as 
the free and gracious gift of God is bestowed only upon such 
as have faith in Christ and who follow Him and honor Him, 
or who at least in the time of their trouble look to Him, or 
call upon His name for help and deliverance. Whether, there- 
fore, a man’s soul is to be delivered from the power of Satan, 
sin and death, which is the wages of sin, depends not at all on 
his works, but rather it depends on whether his name is written 
in the book of life. If his name is found written there, he 
has received the gift of God which is eternal life. The reward 
that all such receive on account of their works will be a greater 
or less degree of honor and glory among the redeemed. On 
the other hand, those whose names are not written in the 
book of life are cast into the lake of fire, which is the second 
death, and the degree of punishment of which they are deserv- 
ing, will be determined according to their works. After all the 
dead have been judged before the Great White Throne, and 
either acquitted or convicted, then death and hades will be 
cast also into the lake of fire. Thus the last enemy to be 
destroyed is death. And its prison house, hades or sheol, will 
be cast out to abide under God’s wrath as a thing hateful to 
Him, and that henceforth is to be forever abolished. 


CHAPTER XXIX 
ALL THINGS MADE NEW 


A New Heaven and a New Earth 


The next and final series of visions granted to the Seer 
brought to his attention seven new things: 


“And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the 
first heaven and the first earth were passed away: and 
there was no more sea. And I John saw the holy city, 
new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, 
prepared as a bride adorned for her husband” (ch. 21:1, 2). 


Previous to this chapter the Bible gives a brief outline of 
events connected with the history of our race during seven ages: 
(1) The Edenic age; (2) The Ante-diluvian age; (3) The 
Noachic age; (4) The Abrahamic age; (5) The Mosaic age; 
(6) The Present Evil age; and (7) The Kingdom age. Each 
of these ages began with God entering into covenant relation 
with the race of mankind, or with certain representatives of the 
race, and each of these seven ages ended, or will end in due time, 
with the outpouring of divine judgments because of man’s un- 
faithfulness to obligations which he accepted when he entered 
into the covenant relation with God. Now there is contained 
in the last two chapters of the Revelation a very brief account 
of events predicted for the eighth age, and according to the 
significance of sacred numbers eight stands for new beginnings. 

And John saw (1) a new heaven; and (2) a new earth. 
These were both new creations to take the place of the former 
heaven and earth that had fled from the face of Him that sat 
on the Great White Throne. This means at least the total de- 
struction of this earth as at present constituted, the same as, 
for some reason which the Bible does not explain, the earth as 
originally created was destroyed. As it has been suggested 


336 


ALL THINGS MADE NEW 337 


the occasion for that first destruction may have been the result 
of the testing and fall of some of the angels under the leader- 
ship of Satan (Eze. 28:12-15; Isa. 14:9-14) ; for these proph- 
ecies evidently go beyond the kings of Tyre and Babylon. 
In Gen. 1:1, it is declared, “In the beginning,” or at some time 
in the undated and unknown past, “God created the heavens and 
the earth.” That beginning may have been ten, twenty, or a 
hundred or more million years ago. Scientists are unable to 
agree themselves regarding the exact age of this earth. They 
are still speculating and theorizing, and the claims made by 
some of them have alarmed some Christians unnecessarily, 
because no matter what conclusion may finally be reached re- 
garding the age of the earth, there will be no conflict between 
scientific and revealed truth, 


Four Destructions of the Earth Revealed 


Gen. 1:2 reveals that the earth, as originally created, became 
a ruin and empty; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. 
This is the first destruction of the earth mentioned in Scrip- 
ture. It must have been the earth as originally created that 
was destroyed, for some reason not given, because Scripture 
teaches clearly that the earth was not created in the beginning 
“without form and void.” The prophet declares: 

“Thus saith the Lord that created the heavens: God 
Himself that formed the earth and made it, He hath 
established it, He created it not in vain (void, the very 
same word used in Gen. 1:2), He formed it (hence, it was 


not created without form) to be inhabited (rather than 
empty, or void)” (Isa. 45:18; 24:1). 


The prophet Jeremiah (4:23-26) also records a vision he had 
received relative to the destruction of the original earth. Hence, 
what is recorded in Genesis first chapter, following verse two, 
is an account of the restoration, some six thousand years ago, 
of the earth that had become a ruin, in order to prepare it for 
the habitation of man whom God was about to create, and to 
whom it was God’s purpose to give dominion over the earth. 

The apostle also calls attention to the second, or later destruc- 
tion of the earth in the days of Noah by the flood of waters (2 
Pet. 3:5, 6), and then he declares: 


338 IS THE KINGDOM AGE AT HAND? 


“The heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same 
word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day 
of judgment and perdition of ungodly men” (v. 7). 


Fire caused by electrical storms therefore, will be the prin- 
cipal agent employed by God to destroy the earth and heaven, or 
firmament, that now exists. This third destruction of the earth 
will be preparatory to the Kingdom age. And then, at the end 
of Christ’s reign on this earth, and after the rebellion of Gog 
and Magog, the fourth and final destruction of the earth and 
the heavens is predicted, -four being the number of the earth, 
and it is declared, “There was found no place for them” (v. 11). 
In other words, the destruction of the planet known as the earth 
will then be complete, and it will no longer exist in God’s uni- 
verse. Thus the occasion for the new heaven and the new 
earth which God will create at that time. 


All Things on Earth Made New 


To the Seer there was revealed also (3) a new relation to 
be established between God and those dwelling in the new 
earth: 


“And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Be- 
hold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell 
with them, and they shall be his people, and God Himself 
shall be with them, and be their God. And God shall 
wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be 
no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall 
there be any more pain: for the former things have passed 
away. And He that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I 
make all things new. And He said unto me, Write: for 
these words are true and faithful” (ch. 21:3-5). 


Because of this new relation, God dwelling with men on the 
earth, an ideal condition exists. It is as far removed and as 
different from that which is now the common lot and experience 
of man as could be well imagined: eyes are bright with mirth 
rather than dimmed with tears; death is banished, and there 
are nO more mourners going about the street; gladness takes 
the place of sorrow, laughter is heard on all sides and there is 
none who weep; perfect health also is enjoyed with freedom 


ALL THINGS MADE NEW 339 


from all pain. The former things, that were the results of 
sin and its curse, are passed away. And having God not only 
as Friend, but as Companion, assures that man shall have all 
things richly to enjoy. This is no idle dream. The words are 


true and faithful according to the witness of Him Who sat 
upon the Throne. 


“And He said unto me, it is done. I am Alpha and 
Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto 
him that is athirst of the fountain of life freely. He 
that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be- 
his God, and he shall be My son. But the fearful, and 
unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and 
whore-mongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, 
shall have their part in the lake that burneth with fire 
and brimstone: which is the second death” (ch. 21 :6-8). 


The assurance, “It is done,” is but a further illustration of 
a thing which God has purposed to do, viewed as already ac- 
complished. ‘To the God Who inhabitest eternity, “A thousand 
years are in His sight but as yesterday when it is past, or as a 
watch in the night.” And the same unchanging God, Whose 
endless years do last alway, promises to give the water of life 
freely to him that is athirst: It is the promise of the Holy 
Spirit without measure,— a priceless gift freely bestowed along 
with the assurance that the overcomer shall inherit all things 
as a child of God. The form of this assurance is the same as 
those addressed to the churches in the seven epistles. Unlike 
the redeemed of former dispensations, the earth dwellers ap- 
pearing in this vision, evidently have not attained unto perfec- 
tion and been confirmed in holiness. They are an earthly 
people with a goal set before them and a rich reward is provided 
for the overcomers. They will continue, also to be moral agents, 
and having power to choose between good and evil they are 
responsible and will be held accountable to God. Hence the 
warning that evil doers shall have their part in the lake of fire. 
Thus God remains the same in every age. He loves holiness 
and rewards the good. He hates sin and all who do evil will 
be banished from His presence to abide under His wrath. 


340 IS THE KINGDOM AGE AT HAND? 


The Holy City, New Jerusalem 


John saw also (4) the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down 
from God out of heaven. That holy city is merely a symbol 
used for the Bride of Christ whose glorious perfection, as 
changed into Christ’s likeness, the Seer proceeds to unfold. 
In Revelation the 17th chapter, a godless city is presented under 
the figure of a lewd woman. Here the True Church of the 
redeemed, the Bride of Christ, is described under the figure of 
the holy city, new Jerusalem. 

“And there came unto me one of the seven angels which 
had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues, and 
talked with me, saying, Come hither, I will show thee the 
bride, the Lamb’s wife. And he carried me away in the 
spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me that 
great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven 
from God, having the glory of God: and her light was like 


unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear 
as crystal” (ch. 21:9-I1). 


The jasper stone is mentioned but once before in this proph- 
ecy, and then the Occupant of the Rainbow throne is likened 
unto it (ch. 4:3). And here, concerning the Lamb’s Wife, 
Who has been made a partaker of the divine nature, it is de- 
clared, Her light, or the truth which emanates from her, was 
like the precious jasper stone, clear as crystal. 


The New Jerusalem Is Not Heaven 


The description here furnished of the Bride of Christ, the 
Lamb’s Wife, or the True Church glorified, is frequently un- 
derstood to be a representation of Heaven. Many sermons 
have been preached on Heaven with the holy city, new Jeru- 
salem, as the Scriptural basis and authority to show what 
Heaven is like. Nothing, however, could be more fanciful or 
further removed from the truth as it has been revealed for our 
learning than preaching from this Scripture on such a theme. 
It illustrates the careless, not to say irreverent manner in which 
many handle the teachings of God’s Word. It explains also 
why today among Christians much teaching that carries the 
stamp of orthodoxy is unscriptural, and on the other hand, 
why much that is Scriptural is opposed to orthodoxy so that to 


ALL THINGS MADE NEW 841 


declare the truth of God in the Church, which is supposed to 
be the pillar and ground of the truth, will often subject one to 
the charge of being heterodox. Even as the Scribes and 
Pharisees railed against the teachings of their own Scriptures 
as proclaimed by Jesus Christ, so today there are those, who 
having a zeal without knowledge, will hasten to warn the 


brethren to be on their guard against any truth that is opposed 
to orthodox opinions. 


The Bride, the Lamb’s Wife 


The new Jerusalem descending out of heaven from God is 
shown to John by the angel, and plainly declared to be, “The 
Bride, the Lamb’s Wife.” These glorified and redeemed ones 
are presented under the imagery of a wonderfully glorious, 
beautiful and marvelous city, and the perfection and beauty of 
the Lamb’s Wife are revealed by the description given of this 
symbolic city, the new Jerusalem: 


“And had a wall great and high, and had twelve gates, 
and at the gates twelve angels, and names written thereon, 
which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children 
of Israel: on the east three gates; on the north three 
gates; on the south three gates; and on the west three 
gatese (chi SI yt 211 3)). 


This imagery is explained by the Old Testament prophets, 
“Salvation will God appoint for walls and bulwarks” (Isa. 
26:1). And in connection with the Zion of the Holy One of 
Israel, during the Kingdom age, it is said: “Thou shalt call thy 
walls Salvation, and thy gates, Praise’ (Isa. 60:14-22). So 
here, salvation is the wall great and high that protects the 
Lamb’s Wife from all possible enemies. The gates signify 
Praise, whether it be such as she offers to God, or such as she 
receives for herself. The angels represent her spirit of minis- 
try. The names of the twelve tribes of Israel written on the 
gates of the wall suggest that representatives of each of these 
tribes have obtained for themselves a full reward and so share 
with Gentile Christians the honor of being in that class of the 
redeemed who constitute the Bride, the Lamb’s Wife. Such is 
the symbolic significance of the city, new Jerusalem, with its 


342 IS THE KINGDOM AGE AT HAND? 


wall, with three gates on each of the four sides. Three is the 
number of the Trinity; Four is the number of the earth, and 
four times three or twelve gates, twelve angels, twelve tribes 
reveal that the work of the Trinity on the present earth has 
been entirely completed and perfected. 


Matthias Not an Apostle of Christ 
“And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in 


them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb” (ch. 
ei 14 )s : 


In the True Church, the Bride of Christ and the Wife of 
the Lamb, the Gentiles are to be fellow-heirs and of the same 
body (with the true Israel of God) and partakers of His 
promise in Christ by the gospel (Eph. 3:6). The wall 
(Salvation) of this city therefore had twelve foundations on 
which were written the names of the twelve apostles (Eph. 
2:20). The fact deserves attention that there are but twelve 
apostles whom Jesus recognized as being entitled to that office. 

Before His ascension Jesus commanded the eleven apostles 
not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of 
the Father, namely, the gift of the Holy Spirit Who was to be 
their teacher and Guide and Counselor in all the work that 
they were to perform for the Master. However, without wait- 
ing for the Spirit, and at the suggestion of the impulsive Peter 
who assumed that the fulfilment of Scripture depended on him 
and the other apostles, they proceeded to determine who should 
succeed Judas Iscariot to the office of apostleship. To reach a 
decision they used the lot, a God-appointed institution, but one 
the use of which was not authorized in the new dispensation. 
The lot fell upon Matthias; and he was numbered with the 
apostles (Acts 1:4, 5, 15-26). 

But the apostles were chosen by Jesus Himself, and He 
never delegated the authority to make that choice to the eleven. 
In His Own time and way, therefore, He called and appointed 
Saul, who was afterward called Paul, to be the successor of 
Judas in the office of apostleship. And Paul became the chief- 
est of the apostles while Matthias is never so much even as men- 
tioned again. Thus very plainly Christ showed His disapproval 


ALL THINGS MADE NEW 343 


of the use of the lot in this dispensation of the grace of God. 
His followers were to look to and depend upon the Holy 
Spirit for divine guidance, even as Jesus had directed them to 
do, in all matters concerning which it was desired to learn 
and to understand His will. The fact that by the use of the 
unauthorized lot the apostles had selected Matthias and num- 
bered him as one with themselves in the office of apostleship 
was probably the chief cause for Paul having so much trouble 
in the Church to establish his right to be called an apostle 
of Jesus Christ. 

There were, therefore, but twelve foundations on which 
were written the names of the twelve apostles. One of these 
names certainly was that of Paul, and the name of Matthias 
was evidently omitted. It does not follow from this fact that 
in connection with the work and worship of the Church, what- 
soever is not expressly and plainly commanded in the written 
Word of God is forbidden. Not at all; but it does teach that in 
all things the Church is to be obedient to the will of Christ, her 
divine Head, and when there is any doubt or question con- 
cerning what the Lord would have her do the Church is to 
look to the Holy Spirit, and to be guided wholly by Him, in 
order to assure her having the help and blessing of the Master 
in all she engages to perform for him. If thus mindful and 
obedient in honoring the Holy Spirit, it can be said to the 
Church, “Do as occasion serve thee; for God is with thee” 
i ant 40:7). 


The Bride of Christ Perfect and Glorified 


“And he that talked with me had a golden reed to meas- 
ure the city, and the gates thereof, and the wall thereof. 
And the city lieth foursquare, and the length is as large 
as the breadth: and he measured the city with the reed, 
twelve thousand furlongs. The length and the breadth 
and the height of it are equal. And he measured the wall 
thereof, an hundred and forty and four cubits, according 
to the measure of a man, that is, of the angel” (ch. 21: 
15-17). 


The city, new Jerusalem, is represented as a cube, the only 
perfect figure. Each dimension, the length, breadth and height, 


344 IS THE KINGDOM AGE AT HAND? 


was twelve thousand furlongs, or twelve multiplied by a thou- 
sand, and the wall was an hundred and forty-four cubits, or 
twelve multiplied by itself. These numbers are used sym- 
bolically to set forth the completion and perfection of the 
Church, the Lamb’s Wife, as the finished work of God. Thus 
the desire of Christ concerning His Church is here revealed to 
have been fully realized: 


“That He might present it to Himself a glorious Church, 
not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that 
it should be holy and without blemish” (Eph. 5:27). 


These are the very results indicated by the symbolism employed. 
Then further, 


“And the building of the wall of it was of jasper; and 
the city was pure gold, like unto clear glass. And the 
foundations of the wall of the city were garnished with 
all manner of precious stones. The first foundation was 
jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, chalcedony; the 
fourth, an emerald; the fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; 
the seventh, chrysolyte; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, a 
topaz; the tenth, a chrysoprasus; the eleventh, a jacinth; 
the twelfth, an amethyst. And the twelve gates were 
twelve pearls; every several gate was of one pearl: and 
the street of the city was pure gold, as it were transparent 
glass” (ch. 21: 18-21). 


The building of the wall of this city was of jasper, the 
stone to which deity and the divine nature are compared. The 
city itself was pure gold, and thus free from the alloys of deceit 
and hypocrisy. And the foundations of the wall were garn- 
ished with all manner of precious stones: 

The breastplate of judgment, which Aaron was to wear 
upon his heart, when he went into the holy place to minister 
before the Lord as the high priest of the children of Israel, 
was to be made foursquare and set in settings of stones, even 
four rows of stones, and the names of the various precious 
stones are given (Ex. 28:15-29). That breastplate was the 
type of what that nation would be and of the place it should 
occupy close to the very heart of God, provided it hearkened 
to His voice and kept His covenant. The promise of God was, 


ALL THINGS MADE NEW 345 


“Ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto Me above all 
people: for all the earth is Mine: and ye shall be unto 
Me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation” (Ex. 
19:5, 6). 


Israel as a nation forfeited that high calling, privilege and honor 
because of disobedience, unfaithfulness to covenant obligations, 
and finally, by rejecting and crucifying the Messiah, the Prince 
ap ail kh oe 


The Church Substituted for Israel 


The result was that in the plan of God the True Church was 
substituted for that nation. And the Church that Christ was 
to build would include the Gentiles not less than the true Israel 
of God. Here then in this city, new Jerusalem, it is not the 
gates of the wall on which the names of the twelve tribes were 
inscribed that are garnished; rather, it is the foundations of 
the wall (Salvation) on which were the names of the twelve 
apostles that were garnished with all manner of precious stones. 
For now the True Church is the holy nation, and as such she 
is a peculiar treasure of kings and priests unto God above all 
nations. And when the list of the stones which garnish the 
foundations of the wall (of Salvation) is compared with the 
list of those that were set in four rows on the breastplate of 
judgment (Ex. 28:17-21), and on which were inscribed the 
names of the twelve tribes of Israel, it will be seen at once that 
only seven of the original stones appear in this prophecy. 
These are the sardius, topaz, emerald, sapyphire, amethyst, 
beryl and jasper. Then five are substituted, namely, the sar- 
donyx, chalcedony, chrysolyte, chrysoprasus and jacinth. These 
are used for garnishing the foundations instead of the carbuncle, 
diamond, ligure, agate and onyx that are rejected of those stones 
on which the tribes of Israel were inscribed. Five is the num- 
ber of human incompleteness and insufficiency: Seven is the 
number of dispensational fulness and completion. The true 
Church, therefore, will include the full number both of the 
nation of Israel and of the Gentile nations who have responded 
to the high calling of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. 

But while the nation of Israel forfeited the privilege of 


846 IS THE KINGDOM AGE AT HAND? 


being the foundations of the wall of the city she will never- 
theless furnish the gates; and every several gate was of one 
pearl signifying that this people were redeemed, washed, purified 
and glorified, and which at once also associates them with the 
Pearl of Great price. Further, in this city the street was of 
pure gold, as it were transparent glass. Man is known by his 
walk, or by the way in which he goes, and this street reveals 
the holiness, sincerity and divine wisdom of one whose ways 
are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace (Prov. 


SLT 


The New Temple 


“And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Al- 
mighty and the Lamb are the temple of it” (ch. 21: 22). 


In this city, new Jerusalem, the figure of the glorified Bride 
of Christ, the Lamb’s Wife, John saw no temple, at least no 
material temple. Yet he saw (5) a new temple; for God 
Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it. This will be the 
time for the literal fulfilment of the words of Jesus: 


“If a man love Me, he will keep My words: and My 
Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and 
make our abode with him” (John 14:23). 


Here the Father and the Son are abiding in the True Church 
through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit without measure, 
and thus the Church becomes like unto the Son of Man in 
Whom dwelleth the fulness of the godhead bodily (Col. 2:9). 


The New Light 


“And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the 
moon, to shine in it: for the glory of the Lord did lighten 
it, and the Lamb is the light thereof. And the nations 
of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it: and 
the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honor into 
it. And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day: 
for there shall be no night there. And they shall bring 
the glory and honor of the nations into it. And there 
shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, 
neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie, 
but they who are written in the Lamb’s book of life” 
(ch. 21: 23-27). 


ALL THINGS MADE NEW 347 


In verse 11 it is said of this city, “Her light (knowledge 
truth, understanding) was like unto a stone most precious, 
even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal.” Here the source 
of her light is revealed, and the reason is given for her not 
needing either the sun or the moon to shine for her. “The glory 
of the Lord did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof. 
In the imagery of Scripture, the sun stands for divine in- 
telligence and understanding, while mere human knowledge 
is represented by the moon. The Lamb’s Wife, who is 
symbolized by this city, is herself a partaker of the divine 
nature; she shares with God and with Christ glory, honor, im- 
mortality, and being possessed of all knowledge and wisdom 
she has no need of further instruction; for she knows all things. 
She is in closest fellowship also with both the Father and the 
Son, and in their light she will see light clearly. And her light 
will be made manifest; in it the nations of the saved will walk 
and the kings of earth will bring to her their honor and glory, 
as will also the nations. These will be received and welcomed 
at all times for the gates of the glorified Church will never be 
shut by day, and there is no night there. As the light signifies 
knowledge and understanding, the night signifies the darkness 
of ignorance and error. In the new earth there will be (6) the 
new light that will for ever banish the darkness. And nothing 
that would defile, whether ignorance or sin, can enter that city, . 
but only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life. 

This Scripture provides no ground for reasonable hope for 
a second probation to be granted unto the lost. The destiny of 
all such persons will have been determined already, at the close 
of the Kingdom age, when the dead were summoned to appear 
before the Great White Throne. They were cast into the lake 
of fire, which is the second death; and if they are ever to 
escape from that place and condition, the Bible at least does not 
so declare, or even offer a hint of such a possibility. 


Saved as by Fire 

All these kings and nations that will dwell in the new earth 
are such as are saved, or as will be saved before the end of the 
Kingdom age. But although saved, still their works have not 
obtained for them the reward of glory such as would entitle 


348 IS THE KINGDOM AGE AT HAND? 


them to be identified with the True Church, the Lamb’s Wife. 
Hence they remain mere earthly beings and continue to be earth 
dwellers. Nevertheless, in the new earth they will enjoy the 
presence and blessing of God Who dwells among them. They 
will then be far more interested in the Church, in her worship 
and service than many such appear to be today. Whatever of 
glory, honor and riches the people, kings and nations then 
possess will be brought willingly and gladly into the Church to 
be consecrated to the service of God and of the Lamb. For at 
that time they will be walking in the light of the city that 
hath foundations whose Builder and Maker is God, and into 
which nothing can enter that will in any wise defile, but only 
they which are written in the Lamb’s book of life. 


A New Eden, or Garden of Delights 


Then as the final vision, John beholds (7) a new Eden, or 
Garden of Delights for the people of God. He learns also that 
the present means of grace and of salvation are all sufficient, 
and that they will be nothing more nor other in the new earth 
than what are now provided. 


“And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear 
as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of 
the Lamb. In the midst of the street of it, and on either 
side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare 
twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every 
month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing 
of the nations” (ch. 22:1, 2). 


The water of life, according to the imagery here employed, 
is not difficult to understand, because probably it symbolizes 
the Holy Spirit Who proceeds from the Father and the Son 
and Who represents the authority of the throne of God and 
of the Lamb. It is the same living water that Jesus offered 
the Samaritan woman for her salvation and comfort (John 
4: 10-14; 7: 37-39), and so here, all the benefits of truth and 
grace that flow from the presence of the Holy Spirit are as- 
sured to the dwellers in the new earth. Likewise the Tree of 
Life represents what in the original Garden of Eden was the 
promised “Seed of the woman,” but which in the new earth 
will be the Glorified Son of Man. In the midst of the street 


ALL THINGS MADE NEW 349 


(ch. 21: 21), or path, or way, of it (the city, the Lamb’s Wife), 
and on either side of the river was the Tree of Life. This 
signifies that Christ will dwell with His Church and that He 
will have the Spirit, Whom He has received without measure, 
abiding in Him. The idea seems to present the ubiquity of 
Christ in the new earth,—everywhere present with the Church 
and full of the Spirit. He is the true Bread of life (John 
6: 31-35), Who came down from heaven, and Who returned 
thither; but at that time He will fill the Church with His pres- 
ence and He will accompany the Spirit, or the river of water 
of life, wherever it flows. The Tree of Life bears twelve man- 
ner of fruits, and yields her fruit every month, or twelve 
times a year; the number twelve suggests the perfection and 
completeness of the Great Physician for the purpose of healing 
the nations. Jesus will, therefore, be able to save to the utter- 
most all who will come unto Him. This is an assurance that 
even now He is sufficient for the salvation of all who put their 
trust in Him. Jesus Christ is the same, yesterday, today and 
forever, or for the ages. 


The Curse of Sin Entirely Taken Away 


“And there shall be no more curse; but the throne of 
God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and His servants shall 
serve Him: and they shall see His face; and His name 
shall be in their foreheads. And there shall be no night 
there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; 
for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign 
for ever and ever, or for the age of the ages” (ch. 22: 


3-5). 


The true Church will not only be free from sin but also from 
its curse. That curse, due to the weakness and infirmity of 
the flesh, rests on even the best of Christians today; and since 
there is not a righteous man on earth that liveth and sinneth 
not, even the True Church is marred, because in her members 
are found failures and shortcomings that cause blemishes and 
imperfections. But when the mortal puts on immortality, and 
when each member of the Church bears the image of the heav- 
enly, then sovereign power, or the throne of God and of the 
Lamb, shall be possessed by the Lamb’s Wife, and strength 


350 IS THE KINGDOM AGE AT HAND? 


and beauty will take the place of weakness and imperfection. 
Then also His servants will serve Him with fidelity, behold- 
ing His face and having His name in their foreheads. Being 
transformed into Christ’s image, they shall be like Him, and 
see Him as He is. 

Ignorance, error, superstition, misunderstanding, doubt, mis- 
trust, frailty, sin are each and all elements of the night 
which the apostle declares “is far spent” (Rom. 13:12). The 
glorified Church has reached the state of eternal day. There 
shall be no night there; for in His light they shall see light 
clearly, or have knowledge and understanding of truth, and 
they shall know even as also they are known. Hence they need 
no candle, human knowledge, neither light of the sun, divine 
knowledge, for the Lord God has given them light in its ful- 
ness and perfection, and like Him they shall know all things 
and with Him they shall reign to the ages of the ages. 


“And he said unto me, These sayings are faithful and 
true: and the Lord God of the holy prophets sent His 
angel to show unto His servants the things which must 
shortly be done. Behold, I come quickly: blessed is he 
that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book” 
(chi227 6/7)" 


The faithful and true sayings include all that has been re- — 
vealed to the Seer, in the several visions; for God desires that 
His people shall know the things which must shortly be done 
and which Jesus is coming quickly to accomplish. As com- 
pared with eternity, or the endless years of God, a mere thou- 
sand, or two thousand years of time are not of sufficient dura- 
tion to require reckoning or consideration. Blessed is he that 
_ keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book. 


The Last Message to the Churches 


“And I John saw these things, and heard them. And 
when I had heard and seen, I fell down to worship before 
the feet of the angel who showed me these things. Then 
saith he unto me, See thou do it not: for I am thy fellow- 
servant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them 
ey the sayings of this book: worship God’ (ch. 
22° 5)19 )5 


ALL THINGS MADE NEW 351 


That is the last message. Man is not to worship saints or 
even angels, and much less images and dumb idols. God only, 
consisting of Father, Son and Holy Spirit, is worthy to receive 
the praise, adoration and worship of men. 


“And he saith unto me, Seal not the sayings of the 
prophecy of this book: for the time is at hand” (ch. 
PP LOW ke 


Five or six hundred years before the close of the Mosaic 
age or dispensation of law the greatly beloved prophet, Daniel, 
desired information regarding the revelation that had been 
committed to him; but at that time his request was denied. He 
was told, 


“Go thy way, Daniel; for the words are closed up and 
sealed till the time of the end.” ‘Then, even at the end 
time, it was declared: “None of the wicked shall under- 
stand, but the wise shall understand” (Dan. 12: 8-10). 


Probably for the same reason the apostles of Jesus at the close 
of the Mosaic age, when they inquired of the Master, “Wilt 
Thou at this time restore again the Kingdom of Israel?” re- 
ceived the reply, “It is not for you to know the times or the sea- 
sons, which the Father hath put in His own power, but ye 
shall receive power (including the power to know and under- 
stand these things), after that the Holy Ghost has come upon 
you” (Act. 1:6-8). The mission of the Holy Spirit was to 
lead the true followers of Christ into all truth, and to show 
them the things that should come to pass hereafter, especially 
the things concerning Christ. And now, since the Holy Spirit 
had been outpoured, John was not to seal the prophecy of the 
Revelation because it was intended for the understanding of all 
inquirers and seekers after truth; for such as these, having 
already entered the new dispensation of the grace of God, the 
time for understanding these things was at hand. This was 
a further part of the last message. And then like the watch- 
man’s message to the hardened and rebellious house of Israel, 


“Thus saith the Lord God, He that heareth, let him 
hear; and he that forbeareth, let him forbear” (Exo. 


Berit sO 30); 


352 IS THE KINGDOM AGE AT HAND? 


or like the Master’s warning to His careless and indifferent 
disciples, 
“Sleep on now, and take your rest; behold the hour is 


at hand, and the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands 
of sinners” (Matt. 26: 45),— 


in each case a message that was intended to alarm and to 
arouse those addressed with the suggestion that it was possibly 
even then too late to change the results; so to the sleeping and 
procrastinating sinners and to the careless and indifferent dis- 
ciples of this present age, at the close of this marvelous revela- 
tion of God’s plans and purposes,—a revelation that directed 
attention to the great tribulation, to the day of the Lord, to the 
Kingdom age and to the judgment of the Great White Throne, 
—in order to startle the careless so that they would improve 
present opportunities, and in order to encourage the faithful 
to remain steadfast, the message of the angel to the Seer 
concludes, 


“He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he that 
is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, 
let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be 
holy still. And, behold, I come quickly; and My reward 
is with Me, to give every man according as his work shall 
be. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, 
the first and the last. Blessed are they that do His com- 
mandments, that they may have right to the Tree of Life 
(right now, and Topay, if men will only hear His voice), 
and may enter in through the gates into the city” (ch. 
eal ws YM 


The city, or new Jerusalem, which is now being builded to 
form the True Church, which when completed will be the 
Bride, the Lamb’s Wife, and the gates leading into that city 
will be found in the way of divine appointment. In contrast 
with all who will be thus blessed, it is declared, 


“For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whore- 
mongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever 
loveth and maketh a lie” (ch. 22:15). 


Such is the character of those who are without the Church, 
and when this list of non-church members is carefully con- 


ALL THINGS MADE NEW 353 


sidered, then the absurdity of those who make the excuse 
for not uniting with the Church,—“There are too many hypo- 
crites in it,’—becomes apparent at once. In every generation 
of our race since Calvary the best and noblest people living 
on the earth have been church members. Granted that num- 
bered among them are some mere professors and hypocrites, 
who from selfish and unworthy motives have united with the 
Church. But those who for this reason refuse to be identified 
with the Church certainly do not better their position, but they 
elect to remain identified with a much less reputable company 
of persons. In the Scriptures the word “dog” is a term of re- 
proach frequently applied to those who are neither Jews nor 
Christians, or to such as refuse to enter into covenant relation 
with God (Matt. 7:6; Mk. 7:26-28, Lk. 16:21) ; “sorcerers” are 
such as hold communion with demons; “whoremongers” are 
those who no longer retain even self respect; “murderers” are 
persons who do not hesitate to strike at the very image of God 
as it appears in man; “idolators” are such as are so ignorant 
and depraved as to suppose that they are the creatures of their 
own workmanship, and those who make and love a lie, or hypo- 
critical deceivers generally, are all children of the Devil, and 
they are like their father who was a liar from the beginning. 
All who are without the Church are in the world and in fellow- 
ship with the unregenerate portion of mankind. 


The Final Assurance That This Prophecy is True 


“T Jesus have sent Mine angel to testify unto you these 
things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring 
of David, and the bright and morning star” (ch. 22:16; 
WNonte240175 Mattn2 322 -"2, Pett. 10): 


Since this is true the final gracious invitation given in this 
prophecy is not to be treated indifferently : 
“And the Spirit and the Bride say, Come. And let him 
that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. 


And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely” 
(ches 3.37 ). 


That gracious invitation to WHOSOEVER includes even 
the dogs, sorcerers, whoremongers, murderers, idolators, and 


354 IS THE KINGDOM AGE AT HAND? 


even deceitful liars who are like their father the Devil. Hence 
none need ever despair. Jesus is willing and able to save to 
the UTTERMOST ALL WHO COME and who take the 
water of life. A final warning is given that by many today 
is carelessly overlooked and disregarded, 


“For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of 
the prophecy of this book, if any man shall add unto these 
things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are 
written in this book: and if any man shall take away 
from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall 
take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the 
holy city, and from the things which are written in this 
book i( ch) 223 TS; 19): 


The things here mentioned as written in this book are the 
blessings and rewards promised to all who do God’s command- 
ments. And now the last promise, prayer and benediction is 
given by the glorified Son of Man to all who love His appearing 
and Kingdom, 


“He Who testifieth these things saith, Surely I come 
quickly. AMEN. EVEN SO, COME, LORD JESUS. The grace 
of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. AMEN” (ch. 
22) 20;122)), 


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